That Burning Feeling
by fanficsareawesome
Summary: Elena Gilbert is a high school student in all AP classes. She cannot afford her dream university. She gains hope when her high school takes part in a nation-wide scholarship contest. Just when she thinks she has a chance, in comes Damon Salvatore. He is egotistical, smart and ridiculously handsome. What is the burning feeling she feels? Hatred? Jealousy? Or attraction? AU AH btis
1. Burning Curiosity

**Author's Note: Hmm...My second fanfic. AU AH this time. I have mixed feelings about this one. Frankly, I like this story better than the other one. Mainly because it's not canon till a point. I haven't been able to update that one because rumours of Damon's death in 4x14 depressed me into writer's block. The second chapter's done, but I don't like it. Might take a while. Anyway, presenting...That Burning Feeling!**

* * *

"Time's up!" Mr Dane's loud voice rang out.

Oh, thank goodness! Elena Gilbert scrawled her name on her test lazily. She heard a few of her classmates groan in disappointment. Frankly, she was bored out of her mind in her French AP class. She had always had a flair for languages, and the semester she had spent in Paris was an added boost to her French skills. She could ace them without even trying most of the time.

Her mother was half French too, so that helped her accent a lot. Now that her parents were gone though, things were a little harder to handle. She was grateful for school. A nice distraction from the harsh reality she had to face every morning. She still had nightmares sometimes. Now, though, she was just filled with _ennui._

Relieved by the sound of the bell, Elena quickly got up and rushed out of class. Her best friends Bonnie and Caroline would be waiting for her near the lockers. Bonnie had been her best friend since kindergarten and Caroline had made her way into their group just last year. Now that she was in AP classes, she never got to see them anymore. Lunch breaks were precious half-hours meant for catching up.

She smiled as her friends came into view. Caroline was tall and pretty with blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was always smiling and it was good for Elena to be around positive energy. Caroline was also one of the more popular girls in school. That meant she always had gossip and important news. Bonnie was a little shorter than Elena, but just as pretty as Caroline with her dark hair and deep brown eyes. She was the cynic in their group. Without her, Elena and Caroline would probably be lost to reality. Bonnie kept them grounded. They both looked excited about something today and she couldn't wait to see what.

"Elena! Elena!" Caroline squealed happily running forward to hug her friend. Her blonde curls bounced as she jumped up and down wildly. Bonnie was more subdued, as usual. She smiled at Elena warmly.

"Hey, you guys," Elena smiled back at both of them. It seemed like a long time since she had last seen them. She was always busy now and while it was good sometimes, other times it could be lonely.

"Elena, you'll never guess who just joined the school!" Bonnie giggled and jumped in the air. Now that was strange. Typical Caroline behaviour, but for Bonnie to act like that…

"Who could get you guys so excited?" Elena asked, confused now. "Some sort of celebrity?"

"No! No!" Caroline could barely contain herself now. "His name is Damon Salvatore and he's totally hot!" Elena smiled. If there was anything that could get both Bonnie and Caroline excited, it was a hot guy. In a small town like Mystic Falls, a sweet, handsome guy was a difficult thing to find. This was definitely a good thing.

"Wait…" Elena frowned as something strange hit her. "Damon…Salvatore? As in Stefan Salvatore's brother?"

For the past 3 years, Elena had been in an on-again off-again relationship with Stefan Salvatore. He was 17, one year younger than Elena, but very sweet and cute. He had the most perfect smile and he was very friendly. The problem was that he could be a little controlling and he tagged along wherever they went. It got a little tiresome. Elena needed privacy and alone-time occasionally. He didn't seem to get that. She had just broken it off with him last week. At first, he was devastated, but then even he admitted it was pointless keeping up the charade.

"Yes, the one and only," Bonnie rolled her eyes. She had never liked Stefan much, and if his descriptions of his brother were anything to go by, she wouldn't like him either. For an open guy, Stefan clammed up a lot when she asked about his family. Elena had learned a long time ago to leave that topic alone, although she still wasn't sure why.

"Oh," Elena said, not sure what was expected of her. Should she be happy? Disappointed?

"I've checked his schedule; he's in all your classes. You two are meant. to. be!" Caroline went on, still lost in her own world.

"Wait, what?" All her AP classes? Stefan had never mentioned that Damon was smart. Or still in school.

"Yep, is that exciting or what?" Bonnie shrugged indifferently. She didn't get what all the drama was about, but the pleasant atmosphere was definitely a refreshing change from the regular monotony of school. Elena had totally killed the excitement, though, so she would enjoy the happy moment for a little while longer.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," Caroline babbled happily. "Stefan's great and all, but he doesn't seem right for you. This guy though, you should check him out. God, he's amazing! And if you don't want him, I'll take him!" Again, typical Caroline.

* * *

Back at home, Elena pondered over what her friends had told her. Damon Salvatore was going to be in their school. In her classes.

In the early stages of her relationship with Stefan, she had been curious about his family. Unlike most other people his age, he lived alone. He explained that his mother had died when he was just five years old and his father had sent a nanny to take care of him and his brother. When Damon was older, he got a job and moved to New York to continue his education.

According to newspaper reports, that wasn't all he had done there. He had become notorious for being quite the player and he was often said to be a serious drinker. Child prodigy that he was, he already had shares in three successful businesses. He would be a multimillionaire by the time he hit 20. Elena had never imagined that he was so close to her age. And Stefan had never shown her any pictures of her brother.

Would things be awkward? They probably would, because the break-up had been quite messy at first. She didn't know how much Stefan told his brother. And she didn't know what he was like.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of a doorbell.

"Elena, can you get that?" Her brother Jeremy was obviously transfixed by a video game. Typical. Jeremy was always glued to the TV now. He had to find a girl, soon. Secretly, she always thought he had a crush on Bonnie. Bonnie didn't seem to reciprocate though, so she had left that alone. She rolled her eyes at his engrossment and walked downstairs to open the door. It was Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mother.

"Oh, hello Elena!" Her smile wavered a bit. "Is your aunt Jenna here?"

"I'm sorry, Jenna's out at the moment." Sheriff Forbes still considered Elena a child. Ever since Elena's parents had died in a car accident, she had begun to think of Elena as a bad influence on Caroline. When they had died, Elena had become clinically depressed and sullen. Now, of course, she was recovering, but Sheriff Forbes didn't see that.

"Alright then. Sorry to bother you. I'll come back later."

"Wait! Sheriff Forbes, what is this about?"

"Elena…" The older woman sighed impatiently.

"Please tell me. I'm not sure when Jenna will be back, but I do have a contact number."

Her aunt Jenna was a freelance writer at first, but now she had taken up a teaching job at a university in the next town. She was a little scatterbrained, which meant she usually forgot to call. Still, Jenna had been their rock ever since their parents had died. She treated Elena and Jeremy like her own children. Elena felt like it was her duty to report to Jenna if there was anything important.

"Very well then. I'm sure you've heard that Damon Salvatore will be joining your school tomorrow?" Elena nodded. What was this about? This was the second time she had heard his name today.

"It seems there is some bad blood between the brothers, as Damon has decided to take up residence as your neighbour. Now," she lowered her voice. "Because of his…history, I just wanted to tell you to call if there are any disturbances."

"Will do." Elena smiled and closed the door, sighing in relief. Talking to Liz Forbes was always exhausting and she had a lot of homework to do. Math was going to take an hour; English Lit would be another hour. Still, it was worth it if it meant she was eligible for a scholarship to Stanford University. Stanford had been her dream ever since she was 10 years old. Now she had a chance to make that dream a reality.

* * *

The next morning, she awoke to the sound of another doorbell. Jenna was home. Elena couldn't wait to tell her about the recent developments in her usually monotonous life. In her opinion, it was nothing out of the ordinary, but everybody was acting so strange, she needed an explanation.

"Jenna!" she smiled and hugged her aunt. Jenna was closer to her age than anyone else in her family. She had no close relatives and no cousins. That was why she could trust Jenna to be honest with her more than anyone else.

"Hey, Elena. Anything happen while I was gone?" she asked.

This was her opportunity. "No, nothing interesting. Hey, what do you know about Damon Salvatore?"

"Damon Salvatore?" Jenna frowned. "That's something you don't want to get mixed up in."

"Jenna, he's joining my school. And everybody's reacting in strange ways. _Sheriff Forbes _felt the need to come check up on us while you were gone. He's going to be our neighbour. Please tell me what's going on…Is he really that bad?"

Jenna sighed and slumped down onto the couch. "I never thought I'd see the day…Me telling my niece about Damon Salvatore of all the people on the planet. Hmm. Anyway. Damon Salvatore is Stefan's brother. A long time ago, he used to live here in Mystic Falls. At the Boarding House with Stefan. When you were 5 years old and he was 6, he used to come over to play. Even back then he was a looker. I seem to recall you falling for his beautiful blue eyes."

Elena blushed and sat down next to her. Luckily, Jenna didn't seem to notice. If she had, she would be in for some incessant teasing. She let Jenna continue, "Very intelligent kid. Then, when he was 16, there was some funny business about his girlfriend and Stefan. So he left. Must have really affected him, because he was never the same after that…"

"What happened?" Elena asked, leaning forward to listen to the rest.

"Nobody really knows for sure. He was so friendly and then one day he just…snapped. He became vindictive, manipulative. He did some stuff I don't feel comfortable talking about while you're still 18. I mean, you're going to be in his class. I don't want you to look at him in fear. Scratch that, I don't want you looking at him at all. And I swear everything you hear and read is true. But please don't spread that around school."

"Wow." Wow indeed. She had not expected this.

"Yeah. It's terrible. Anyway, to answer your question, no, he isn't all that bad. But I'd rather you keep your distance. Just in case." Jenna smiled weakly. "But forget all of that for now. We're just going to eat breakfast and then you have to go to school, okay?" Elena nodded at this and went up to her room.

Normally, Elena loved her room. It was the one place in the world that was truly hers. Only hers. She would usually sit on the window seat and write in her diary right before joining her aunt for breakfast. Today though, she couldn't seem to put anything on paper. Elena couldn't help but wonder. Who was Damon Salvatore?

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**No Delena yet, but it's coming. It's definitely coming, hopefully we'll have some interaction by chapter...10? No, just kidding. We'll see some Delena interaction in the next chapter. And this fic doesn't have as long a wait time as this other one. I'll update this every two weeks. Please review if you can. Or stalk it :)**


	2. Burning Regret

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, those of you who read my apology know the reason, but for those of you who didn't get the chance, to, my files were deleted, so I had to go find my backup. Anyway, once again, I sincerely apologize for the delay and hope it won't happen again.**

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'My name is Damon Salvatore,' his application read. 'I am 19 years old and fully capable of taking charge in a situation that requires it. My interests are music and running my businesses successfully. I am oriented towards academics and I speak 8 languages fluently. I play golf on weekends and swim as a hobby. If the school accepts me, I will lead you forward. My strengths are my confidence and my ability to persuade.'

Damon didn't like to boast, but if he had to, he would do a pretty good job. Indeed, he hadn't had to exaggerate anything on his application. He was smart, focused and talented and he knew it. Unfortunately, he didn't always know where to draw the line between self-confidence and arrogance, which led to him being misunderstood many times. He hoped this was not one of those times. After being rejected by three schools in a row because of his reputation as a womanizer and a drunken fool, Mystic Falls High School was probably his last chance before his father kicked him out of the boarding house that was his temporary residence.

Ah, the good old boarding house. He didn't often admit it, but the cozy building had a certain appeal to it. If it didn't, he would be out of there before his father noticed the difference. The place held a lot of important childhood memories for him. Living there for a while had been fun, until, as usual, his father had to ruin everything and ship him off to New York. He couldn't say nothing good had come out of it. Without that extra push, he might not have been 'Damon Salvatore, entrepreneur', maybe having to settle for 'Damon Salvatore, mechanic' instead.

His true interest wasn't business, though. Since he was a very young child, playing with his mother in the garden, it had been his dream to pursue geophysics. The workings of nature had fascinated him, even as a toddler. His mother was responsible for giving him dreams. His father was responsible for taking them away. That was how it had always been, until she died.

Breaking him out of his daydream, Mr Mikaelson, the principal of the high school cleared his throat. Obviously this would be a long conversation. Nothing he wasn't used to, Mr Mikaelson would probably ask him about his habits and kick him out when his earlier actions were deemed unacceptable.

"Well, Mr Salvatore, your application is indeed impressive. Badly written, but impressive," the principal chuckled. "Nevertheless, your reputation speaks for itself. Any school would be honoured to have the privilege of teaching you, if only for a year. But before I open my gates to you, why do you want to be here? We're certainly not the best school in the state, let alone the country!"

The principal of Mystic Falls High School was not an idiot. He knew he was driving Damon Salvatore away. Despite his reputation as a genius, Damon was a hurricane, blowing trouble around as destroying everything in his path. Mr Elijah Mikaelson was wary of the natural disaster that sat before him.

"I have lived here in Mystic Falls for 16 years. I was homeschooled for a while. Then, when my father felt that I needed to interact more with other people, he sent me to a private school in New York."

"Where are you heading with this Mr Salvatore?" Elijah had to admit the guy knew how to talk his way into everything, but now, he needed a straight answer. He had heard every bit of his history before, both from the parts the senior Mr Salvatore had told him eagerly and the tabloids that whispered rumours all around the country.

"I came back because I was sick of it. I want to be in this school because Mystic Falls is my home."

Elijah smiled. Maybe the boy had changed. "Alright then, Mr Salvatore. Welcome to MFHS."

Damon smirked and walked out without a word.

Or maybe not.

Damon Salvatore considered himself at a high point in his life. He seemed to be on lady luck's good side and he hadn't even had to sleep with her. It seemed as though for once, things were going his way. Then again, whenever it seemed like that, something always went wrong. He knew not to expect that this was anything but the calm before the storm.

Speaking of storms, who was that walking down the hall? Something was alluring about this one, her long chocolate hair blowing across her face as she faced the wind to reach the entrance. She was coming closer now, giving him a better look at her. Yes, she was definitely just as beautiful as he had suspected, possibly more. She was petite with an intelligent looking face and a dazzling smile. Her legs were long and thin and she looked spectacular, even in her simple ensemble of a frilly blue blouse and a black pencil skirt.

The best part, however, were her eyes. Her deep brown doe eyes, even as briefly as he had seen them, spoke to him. They were innocent, determined and powerful, with a familiar trait. Hang on. A bit too familiar. Had he seen this girl before? He headed to his house, still wondering where he could have seen this girl and how he could have let himself forget her.

* * *

Night fell and Damon still couldn't get his mind off the beautiful brunette he had seen today. What was it about her that instantly drew his eyes to her? What was that feeling of attraction, like somewhere, sometime in the past, he had seen her, spoken with her, laughed with her? He fell asleep, though briefly.

A loud knock on the door woke him from his light slumber and his father's voice cut through the air sharply. Even after all these years, he would never get used to that harsh tone and the cruel words that came with it.

"Wake up, Damon! You can't seriously be thinking of sleeping? Is that all you ever think about? Remember, being lazy will get you nowhere in life, nowhere!"

As a child and through his early teenage years, he had tried to waive these warnings off as 'tough love' or 'a parent's concern', however he knew that Giuseppe Salvatore spoke with neither of these. Because the harsh tone he spoke with could only be considered pure hatred. He never really understood why, he never even tried to, but sometimes it got out of hand. And something inside him would break.

"Shut up, father! Please! I've had a difficult day and I really need to sleep. You realize I start school tomorrow? I need to sleep!"

For a moment, his father stood still, sneering at him cruelly and muttering curses under his breath. Then, in a flash, his rough palm met Damon's cheek. A thundering slap was heard as his cheek felt like it had been electrified or burnt.

"You don't deserve to be my son. Be grateful I tolerate your presence in this house. Just wait until you graduate and you are cast into the real world. I sure as hell won't stick around to save your snivelling ass."

Typical. Typical, typical Giuseppe. He had never considered the man his father, choosing to treat him as the man who lived in his mother's house instead. His father had never loved him, always favouring his younger brother Stefan instead. Why, then, did he want to interfere in Damon's life to such an extent?

Shaking these thoughts firmly and rather violently out of his head, he chose to replace them with dreams of the brunette he had seen today and her beautiful brown eyes. Sleep didn't seem to be on the cards for him however, as he found himself awake with the worst case of insomnia possible.

Screw sleep, he thought. He would go to the local bar and drown his sorrow in alcohol. No. Not tonight, something stopped him. He couldn't do this again. Mystic Falls was supposed to be his fresh start. A new beginning for him. So unfortunately, he would have to deal with his problems while still sober. This was obviously not going to be a pleasant night, and was probably only the beginning rumbles of thunder before the real storm came. This was no ordinary storm, he decided. This was a full-blown tempest.

At least he had her. Elena Gilbert, his childhood friend and the only person after his mother to have stuck by him. They were children, he was six and she a full year younger. Yet she understood things beyond her years, treating him like a real person. Somehow, she could always make him laugh, even at his worst moments. He confided all his secrets to her, even about his father and he knew somehow that he could trust her. And when he gazed into her chocolate eyes, he felt a connection. They were going to be lifelong companions.

Damon smiled as he finally made the connection. Elena Gilbert? Could it be? These were his last thoughts for the day before he drifted into the sleep he never expected to be granted. Even after all these years, she had such an impact on him.

* * *

The next morning, he awoke before the alarm rang. For once, he was eager to head to school, if only to catch another glimpse of the beautiful brunette and verify her identity. He looked outside his window, grateful for the view. From his room, he could see the road and the houses on the other side of the street. He wasn't used to them being so dark. So this was what the street looked like before sunrise. A cyclist rode peacefully off, carefree and unaffected by the rest of the world. For once, everything was silent, tranquil.

He got out of his bed and groaned as he realized exactly how much more sleep he needed. Clearly energy fuelled enthusiasm. He brushed his teeth and showered before rushing down to eat breakfast before his father woke up. The last thing he needed was an unnecessary tryst with that particular man. Success! He silently celebrated small mercies before hurriedly cramming toast into a box to take with him. He could eat before school if he was hungry.

As quickly as he could, he got behind the seat of his blue Camaro and drove down the road to the school parking lot. To his dismay, his path was blocked by obstacle after obstacle. At this rate, he wouldn't be early, he would be late! He cursed as a family of ducks leisurely strolled across the road. Impatiently, he honked the horns, sending them off in a flurry of wings and feathers.

He let himself smiled again as the school parking lot came into view. There was an easily accessible parking space in sight. Smiling, he drove towards it and just as he was about to ease his precious car into it, a voice stopped him.

"I was going to park there."

He didn't recognize the voice, but it was female and melodic. Not bothering to turn around, he yelled in the direction of the speaker.

"And why should I care? I really can't be late on my first day and I'm not going anywhere, so I suggest you find another place to park. Now get out of my way!"

"Damon?" He turned at the sound of his name and was stunned into silence by what he saw. It was the brunette in a beat-up old car that barely had a make or model anymore. He was about to get out of his car to apologize for his behaviour when she smiled and shook her head in his direction.

"Damon Salvatore, I should have known. You really are just as bad as they say you are, aren't you?" And with that, she backed out of the parking lot and drove away.

Damon knew today was too good to be true. This year was not beginning well…

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**Thank you for all the favourites, follows and reviews I got. Really appreciated. I apologize for the lack of DE Interaction again, however, I am opening doors for a conversation in the next chapter. If I feel inspired, I might even put one up tomorrow since I'm not busy...**

**Also, I am going to respond to reviews very soon. I don't usually respond until after the next chapter has been put up so that I don't accidentally give things away, although since the next chapter will be...pretty cute, I might be willing to let some things spill.**


	3. Burning Desperation

**Author's Note: I hope nobody's too angry that I took so long to update. Of course, this was a really important chapter for this story, so I wanted to make sure I got it right. The real reason for the delay was that this chapter immediately inspired me enough to write the next. So I'll be updating this again tomorrow.**

**Also, you'll see a lot more Delena here, so I won't make you wait any longer...**

* * *

Elena wasn't usually quick to judge. After all, when her parents had died, she had become withdrawn and snapped at everyone except Caroline and Bonnie. People at school used to call her the Ice Queen and people on the road would stare at her pitifully before lowering their glances. Who knew what kind of traumatic experiences Damon had gone through, but at the moment, she didn't care. She was furious.

She slumped down on her bed and groaned as the memories of school earlier that day flooded into her brain. After she left the parking lot angrily and dragged herself back to school, she had been subjected to eight classes of ignoring Damon Salvatore. Eight. He kept shooting her glances and on the rare occasion she didn't ignore them, he would mouth a 'sorry' at her. Pathetic. Elena Gilbert didn't cave that easily. The old Elena might have, but she definitely wouldn't now.

Business Studies was the worst. Unfortunately, their teacher Ms. Wright insisted that they sit in alphabetical order by first name. Normally, Elena didn't mind this. It meant she was always in the second row near the left, the perfect place and she would have Carter and Elizabeth next to her. They were reasonably intelligent, which was great for projects, she didn't have to do all the work to ensure a good grade. Unfortunately, today it meant that her partner on the right was Damon.

Urgh, Damon was so distracting! Aside from constantly gazing at her apologetically, he also had many, many annoying quirks. Like how he was always tapping his foot. Or how he suddenly started humming while he wrote. She had to admit though, he was persistent. Not many people apologize continuously for so long. Elena had almost forgiven him by the end of the day. She was leaving school when Damon started walking beside her. She brushed up against his leather jacket accidentally and found his drink all over her clothes the next minute.

There was no doubt about it, Damon was a jackass. There was no way that was an accident, and after his behaviour in the parking lot, she was inclined to believe that he never felt any remorse in the first place. How was she going to survive a whole year like this? He was utterly infuriating!

She could hear the doorbell faintly from her bedroom upstairs. Nobody was in the house but her. Jeremy had detention yet again and Jenna was at work. Then Elena remembered that Jenna had ordered pizza. But that was supposed to arrive an hour ago. She pulled on her warm purple jacket and found her purse.

"You know, your delivery service is really, really slow," she said briskly, opening the door and counting the notes. Typical Jenna, they were all ones.

"Pizza is 30, right?" she asked, suddenly unsure. Her thoughts were in a blur since she was still caught up in her angry haze.

After ten seconds, she repeated, "Right?" to no response. She put her purse away and looked up to see-

"Damon? What are you doing here?" Oh, great, was he planning to wreck her house now too? It was her sanctuary, the one place she could truly be herself, be free, and now he was going to ruin that too!

"Well, I'm moving the last of my stuff in now. The moving guys got most of it yesterday, but I decided not to risk the breakables." She stared at him blankly. That's when it hit her. Sheriff Forbes had come by her house…Damon was going to be next door! 24/7! There could be no worse hell than this.

"How does that answer my question?"

"Elena, please, we need to talk. I need to apologize." His brilliant blue eyes were pleading and even she couldn't stand that defeated look, so she sighed and mentally kicked herself before stepping aside to let him in the house.

"Okay, please believe me when I say that juice thing was an accident. And my behaviour was terrible, but you have to understand. It was my first day and my last chance. I had to make a good impression." He put down his glass of water- Elena didn't trust him around juice now- and looked back to her.

For some reason, Elena always found it difficult to break away from his gaze. This time was no different, but she managed. "All right, all right," she relented stiffly. "You can go now." It was a little rude, but she needed her privacy.

Damon got up. "All right then, I'll see you later?"

She shrugged. "We'll see. Anyway, it was nice meeting you Damon."

Damon stopped in his tracks and walked back to her. He stood a little too close for comfort, but Elena didn't mind. She was used to it. Another one of his _charming _idiosyncrasies.

"What do you mean? Don't you remember me from when we were younger?" He sounded disappointed, but more curious.

"Oh, that's right. We used to play or something, right? Jenna told me about that…"

"So you remember nothing?" He was incredulous now. He had retained every single memory of this girl, this magical girl, and she remembered nothing?

"Not really, sorry," she replied. Did that mean he remembered them as children playing in her backyard?

"Well then," Damon smirked and plopped back down on her sofa. "It's my duty to refresh your memory." Oh great. She had delayed his departure even further. Groaning inwardly, she sat back down beside him.

* * *

Surprisingly, though, it wasn't all that bad. Their conversation was long, but interesting. Damon made it interesting, somehow.

"Wait, so why do you care so much about my forgiveness? You're the Great Damon Salvatore" she said sarcastically.

"I care, Elena, because you saved me back when we were younger."

"What did I do? Poor Damey couldn't swim or something?" she teased.

"Don't get nasty," he pouted. "This is serious!" Elena burst out laughing.

"Tell me," she said, and looked in his eyes. "And don't lie."

"I've never lied to you and I never will." He matched her gaze and Elena found herself glued in her place.

And that's when he began. They had met each other at a charity event hosted by Mrs Lockwood. Jenna had noticed them talking to each other and had invited them over to play at their house. Giuseppe Salvatore had reluctantly accepted because at the time, he was running for mayor and wanted to increase his chances.

So once every month, Damon, Elena and Stefan (who was only four and often left out) would meet in her backyard. They would normally play something, like tag, but sometimes Damon would be quiet and boring. Elena was always the first to notice when something was wrong. That's how Damon told Elena everything. About how his mother had died and how his father never loved him and about how he was always alone.

"You don't have to tell me this," Elena told him.

"Nothing you didn't already know," Damon reassured her, reaching forward to hold her hands in his.

He continued, a bit sad, but happy to share this with Elena. Whatever was left of her anger melted away as she realized he wasn't who everybody thought he was. He was actually a pretty nice guy, and that didn't surprise her somehow.

"Why don't you let people see the good in you?" she asked. Sitting in front of her, he didn't seem like the same guy people saw in trashy tabloids.

"Because when people see good they expect good." He smiled wanly. She noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. Yes, his cerulean eyes swirled with pain and something else she couldn't read. "And I don't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations," he finished, still holding her hands.

Overwhelmed by a sudden urge to comfort him, she quickly broke away, trying to maintain the distance between them. After all, she had no idea who he was! Surreptitiously she inched away from him. He obviously noticed her efforts and got up.

"I'll see myself out. It was nice getting reacquainted with you Elena," he said. She thought he looked a bit disappointed. Why? Did he expect her to remember?

She smiled at him. "Yeah. I guess I'll see you at school."

He nodded, the faint signs of his signature smirk returning to his face. "I guess."

Damon left after that, leaving Elena feeling strangely alone. She looked around the house, which suddenly looked enormous and empty. She sighed to herself and nibbled apathetically on the pizza that had been delivered moments after their conversation.

* * *

Later that night, she still couldn't get her mind off Damon Salvatore. What was it about him? Why was she so bothered by him? He was so different around her. At school, he was nothing but rude to everyone around him. What made her special?

Was it because of their shared childhood? If only she remembered that she might have her answer. But why didn't she remember? She had a really good memory, the reason she was so smart!

Elena groaned- she was doing this a lot lately. Slumping back on to her bed and landing face first on her pillow.

The actual shock, though, was yet to come. At school the next day, her experience was less than perfect. Sleeping early the previous day meant she hadn't had time to study for the big test and only got a B+. Disappointment crashed over her when she read the result off her monthly report card. Jenna, of course, would be nothing but supportive. Nobody pressured her into doing well. If anything, she put pressure on herself.

After all, she needed to get into Stanford and study business. She needed to feel like she was ready to take on the family business before she inherited it from Isobel and John, her aunt and uncle. They had once had a whirlwind romance and got married in the spur of the moment. Now that thing weren't working, they would divorce.

Unfortunately, that meant that they would both have to sell their shares in The Gilbert Publishing House. The company would fall into the Lockwoods' hands and Elena couldn't let the last piece of the family she had left be taken away. So she dropped her dreams of being a journalist and pushed herself into business. It wasn't ideal, but she did enjoy it, so it was alright. You had to make the sacrifice, she told herself constantly.

Of course, throughout the day, she was hounded by Damon who seemed determined to find her and talk to her while she tried desperately to avoid him. And of course, in Business Studies, he sat uncomfortably close to her and gave her ice-melting hurt puppy eyes while Ms. Wright droned on about market research.

At the end of the day, she was relieved of Damon as she waited in room 307 along with the 21 other scholarship applicants on the school. She had rushed in early, eager to get away from him. They were all taking training classes for the competition to make sure they were ready.

"This countrywide competition is nothing like anything you have every experienced before," Mr Saltzman began. He was one of the last 10 winners of the contest and on the school board. That made him a really good authority on the subject.

There was a knock on the door that interrupted a now annoyed Mr. Saltzman.

"I hope I'm not late. I'm still finding my way around…Elena?"

"Damon."

* * *

**So...things finally fall into place. Well, that or they become even more distorted than they were. So now, just after they have established a tolerance for each other, they find themselves competing against each other.**

**Now, I understand that things may be moving a little too fast as far as their conversation is concerned, but I want to assure you that where I'm heading, Damon and Elena will have to struggle a lot more...**


	4. Burning Disappointment

**Author's Note: Guess I'm late again. Noticed many mistakes in chapter 3. Some others were pointed out by readers. So I figured that it would be better to fix those before putting this up. Chapter 4 is infuriating. It was terrible to right, because it is so essentially Delena. One step forward, two steps back. Just when you thought they were making progress.**

**I'm sorry my writing standards don't match up to the wait for each chapter, which is why I am EXTREMELY grateful for all the people who read this. I'll try not to delay the next one, but for now, better late than never, I guess...**

* * *

Damn it! He was running late again _and _he had managed to lose Elena. He wasn't stupid, he knew she was avoiding him, but he had no clue why. He had to find out. He owed that to the person who had once made his life worth living. As far as he knew, he hadn't been a total jackass for ages.

He quickly found room 307 and knocked. He could hear someone-probably the teacher- speaking inside. Stepping inside, his breathing hitched for a moment as he noticed that the class was in session.

"I hope I'm not late, I'm still finding my way around…Elena?" he breathed. Of all the people in the world, she had to be here.

"Damon," she looked up, equally stunned.

"Damon!" The tall man with sandy brown hair broke into a friendly smile, got up and ushered him into the class. It was Ric. Alaric Saltzman had won the same competition he had entered now. Aside from that, he also happened to be one of Damon's closest friends. Or rather, his only friend after Elena.

Alaric had been his tutor for 2 years while he was living in New York and running the companies. He was a challenge for Damon, since he was very similar to him. And although this led to a lot of fights, it also meant that they sometimes ended up drunk in the local pub together.

In the time that Alaric had to get to know Damon, he found out things that Damon never told anybody. It wasn't by choice, but now that someone else knew his darkest secrets, at least he had someone he could consult. Like a shrink, except not one. Ric had stopped tutoring him to pursue teaching, and Damon had no idea that their next encounter would be so soon after they had parted ways.

Damon could see Elena glower at Alaric. Clearly, he was usurping her position as his favourite in the class. That was all he needed. As if she didn't hate him enough without this.

Yes, Damon knew that he infuriated Elena. He was in each one of her classes and managed to get every single teacher to like him on his first day. Obviously, Elena was used to being the center of attention when it came to school and she didn't like him disrupting her way of life.

"You didn't miss much, so I'll just start again. I doubt many people were paying attention anyway," Ric said, looking back at the rest of the class now. Elena was fidgeting in her seat, an unusual sight. Something was going on here, and he would ask Damon about it later, but he had a class to teach.

"This countrywide competition is nothing like anything you have every experienced before," he restated for Damon's benefit. "You aren't just competing with your peers. You are competing with over 3500000 students from all over America to win one prize that will change your life."

He looked directly at Damon, who was sitting beside Elena now. Elena had a strange expression on her face which Ric couldn't quite place and she was subtly leaning away from him. It was almost distracting.

"The competition consists of a series of tests, held in 10 rounds. They will assess your capabilities based only on what you write. No second chances. For some of you," he looked pointedly at the few blank faces in his class. Rich kids. Felt like they didn't have to work for what they would get anyway. "This means that your standards of writing must improve drastically. How? What can you use to improve your writing?"

A few hands shot up, Damon's and Elena's included.

"Ms. Gilbert." He pointed with a piece of chalk.

"Well, you could use repetition, consistency, comparisons, evidence to support your reasoning, transitional words and phrases, quotations…"

Hearing the groans of some other students in the room, he sensed that this would go on for a while. "Quotations like what?"

"Anything relevant to the topic that you can use to support your essay. For example, when writing an argumentative essay where you are writing in favour of experimentation on animals, you could use Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The end justifies the means'."

Damon could see Alaric slowly nodding approval, but he couldn't stop himself. Alaric knew better than that! He was a World History major!

"Niccolo Machiavelli never said that. It's a common misquote. He actually said 'one must consider the end result'," Damon said calmly, shaking his head firmly.

"Well, he's got you there," Alaric threw his hands up in despair. "But that was a decent example. You may both sit down now."

As much as he hoped the rest of the class would be relatively serene, Elena had other plans. Obviously she was upset with Damon about something. Wait. He hadn't slept with her and dumped her, had he? Either way, neither of them sat back down.

"Statistics prove that most examiners rank famous misquotes above the real quotations because they don't know any better," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'd rather die than misquote Machiavelli," Damon said, equally stubborn and standing his ground.

"Guys, can't we resolve this matter another time?" Alaric cut in weakly. This was not a good day. His words had no effect though, since their argument continued.

"What's wrong with misquoting if it means you can prove a point?" Both their voices were increasing, until they were both almost screaming.

"You're defaming important historical figures by using their words for your selfish reasons!"

"It increases understanding, because the average person can relate to misquotes! No normal person even knows what people said that long ago" She shot him a withering glare, which prompted mirthless laughter from his end.

"The average person is not of significance here! They're not grading your papers!"

"Examiners aren't people now?"

"And I'm not a normal person?"

"How could you possibly know that if you are as normal as you claim you are?"

"My father's Italian, sue me!"

This was getting out of hand and frankly, it was ridiculous, so Alaric was forced to step in.

"Alright, fun's over. Detention now."

Damon almost burst out laughing at how taken aback Elena looked. The girl probably hadn't gotten a detention in her life! This wasn't the same Elena he had known a long time back, so why should he treat her like she was? This Elena was a stuck up know-it-all who loved to pick a fight and whine. He'd seen hints of this side of her in their classes, but it was never as prominent as it was now.

"But that's a black mark on my record, that's basically putting me on the blacklist for life!" she moaned pitifully. Pathetic.

Damon smirked and sauntered out of class, head held firmly in place. Elena followed a few steps behind him. He paused for a minute as he thought he heard her sobbing softly. Was he being too harsh in his judgment? Hell no! He walked on.

In detention, he found that her fear and sadness had escalated to the point that she was crying out loud enough for the entire hallway to hear. He couldn't possibly ignore it anymore.

Turning around to face her, he snapped. "Would you _please_ shut up? I can't concentrate."

"This is entirely your fault, you know," she said between sobs. What?

"It's not worth having this conversation with you." Why had he even tried?

She saw reason and tried to get herself back under control.

"Alright," she said after she was reasonably subdued. "I'm sorry, Damon. I'm just scared."

"Seriously, you're overreacting. It's. Just. Detention," Damon said in disbelief. Seriously, he had been in more detentions in the past year than she had in her entire life. It was no big deal. Why did she care?

"Please, talk to me. I'm worried and if I can't keep myself distracted, I'm going to lose all the self control I have and start crying again. Please, Damon," she pleaded, her big brown eyes boring into his, compelling him to relent.

Elena had always had this control over him. She could always make him see things her way if she needed to. He didn't know what it was, but when she got like this, he had to listen to her. "Fine," he sighed and the relief on her face was apparent. "Why were you avoiding me today?"

The blood drained from her face, yet her expression didn't change. Vehemently, she denied it. "I wasn't avoiding you."

"Ducking out of classes early, pretending to be sick, that's not what Elena Gilbert does."

"Alright, fine, I was avoiding you! Things were just…weird yesterday."

"Weird how?"

"I'm not sure. Just- I- Look, can we please change the topic?" She was obviously tense about this and he didn't want to push her too far today. He shrugged.

"What homework do we have today?" he asked.

"Why were you being mean earlier?" she asked simultaneously.

They looked at each other expectantly and when it was obvious that Elena wasn't going to say anything, he started talking.

"I realized that you've changed a lot."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows as she processed this. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and put her head down. Damon watched her for a few seconds before deciding that his original evaluation was correct.

The school bell rang out loud, signalling that detention was over. Good.

"Well, I'd better get going now," Damon said and walked out, leaving her to ponder over their conversation alone.

Damon was surprised to find Alaric waiting for him outside.

"Detention Ric? Really? I didn't think that was your style…"

"Not funny, Damon," Ric said firmly.

"Alright, so why are you here then? What's bothering you?"

"What's up with you and Gilbert, Damon? You didn't try one of your hit-and-runs with her, did you?"

Damon looked at him incredulously, before replacing his expression with his signature smirk. "No, Ric. I did not, as you so eloquently put it, try a hit-and-run on Elena Gilbert."

"Good. Don't. Elena deserves better than that." Ric was unusually strict.

"Wow, being a teacher has changed you. Not for the better, I'm afraid. Anyway, to ease some of that tension up there, I wasn't planning to sleep with her. That's the last thing on my mind here!"

"Damon Salvatore isn't thinking about sleeping with a hot girl? I'm not the only one that's changed," Ric chuckled.

"You clearly don't have a very high opinion of me. I'm hurt, Ric. Truly." He shook his head, feigning sadness. "Anyway, why do you care?"

"I just felt an odd vibe in class, I guess. You really don't like each other, don't you?"

"I don't know. Maybe." He wasn't sure. As much as he didn't want to be stuck with Elena 2.0, he didn't want to be all alone again either. He'd had 13 years of that and he was sick of it.

Ric opened his mouth and then shut it again. Why was everyone doing that to him today? Elena's weird friends were exactly the same too. What was up with Mystic Falls? Damon explained the situation in the background, but Ric wasn't paying attention.

Then suddenly, Ric made a bizarre conclusion.

"How did I not see this before? You like her!"

"What the- No! We used to play together as children! That's disgusting, Ric!" Damon looked away. Even the thought was repulsive. Okay, so maybe when he was 13 or 14 he'd had idle fantasies of reconnecting with Elena and someday starting a life with her. There was no way in hell that would happen now. They were just too different. Earlier at her house, he thought there had been a spark between them, but he was probably imagining things.

Ric smiled, "Look, deny it all you want, but I haven't seen you so full of life since-"

"Since what, Ric?" Damon reached his boiling point. "Since Katherine? Not really the best argument to support your case."

"Think about it…" Ric's voice faded as he realized that Damon had reached his limit for the day. Any efforts he made now would be futile.

"You know what? I don't have to put up with this!" he yelled. "I freaking hate Elena's guts, and you're an idiot if you can't see that!"

"You hate me? Well, this is an interesting development." Both men turned around to finally see Elena standing in the doorway of the detention room. Damon cursed himself for the hundredth time that day. How long had she been here? How much had she heard?

"Don't worry about me, Mr Saltzman. I can take care of myself," she looked across to her teacher and then returned her eyes to Damon. "Especially when it comes to guys like him. They're a type, you know. Anyway, I'll see you on Monday!" And with that she left.

That was not how things were supposed to go! He swerved and glared at Ric.

"Why didn't you _warn _me? Not cool, Ric! I can't spend entire days following her and apologizing!"

"So don't," Ric suggested simply. "You hate her guts, so why do you care what she thinks?"

Why did he care? Inside, he was just hoping that maybe Elena hadn't changed all that much. That he was being quick to judge as usual.

He shrugged indifferently and picked up his leather jacket from the chair.

"I guess I'll see you on Monday, Mr Saltzman. Really good advice."

* * *

**So, that was not how I originally wanted the chapter to go. But I guess Elena had a mind of her own and wanted to eavesdrop. All three characters may seem a little OOC here, but they're still growing.**

**To summarize the story till now, Elena was curious about Damon and he was excited to meet his childhood friend. He found that she had no memory of him and tried to refresh her memories. Elena felt a spark between them, but didn't want to admit it was there, giving Damon the wrong impression of her. Then she heard him badmouth her to Alaric, so they kind of hate each other now.**

**Anyway, updating again this weekend, not sure when. Updating the other story too.**


	5. Burning a hole in me

**Author's note: I an SO SORRY the update is late. I've been a disappointing updater. It's not entirely my fault because I've had (and I'm still having) exams, but I probably should have warned you guys or something. I am still so grateful to everybody who reviews, stalks, adds or even reads what I write. Seriously so grateful. Thanks for sticking with me despite my irregular updates. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this one...**

* * *

Elena still couldn't get Damon's hurtful words out of her head.

_I freaking hate Elena's guts and you're an idiot if you can't see that!_

She hadn't seen it coming. She had thought they were getting along. He was right. She was an idiot. An idiot to believe that there was even a little good in him.

She ran her hands through her hair and screamed in fury. It wasn't just this. It was affecting everything. When an anxious Bonnie had called her to ask what was wrong, she had snapped at her. Her grades were slipping terrible. She wasn't able to focus on anything, not even basic mathematics. Leaning against the door to support herself against her splitting headache, she found herself in a heap on the floor, crying softly.

Why was this happening to her? And why now? Just when she needed things to be perfect, just when she needed stability and self-confidence, Damon Salvatore had to come waltzing into her life and wreck her future.

She heard a knock on the door. There seemed to be a lot of those lately. Grouchily, she screamed, "Who is it?" and on hearing silence in response, she stumbled towards the door. Another knock.

"Seriously, I'm coming! Don't break the door down!" She didn't care that she was being rude. She didn't even want to know who was on the other side. All she wanted to do was be alone.

Yanking the door open, not knowing what to expect, she was almost relieved to see the concerned faces of Caroline and Bonnie.

"What are you guys doing here?" A faint smile appeared on her face, but clearly it did nothing to reassure her friends.

"Elena, what's wrong? You haven't been picking up our calls and you've been avoiding us…" Caroline's eyes widened when she noticed the tear tracks on Elena's cheeks. "Have you been crying?"

"You skipped school on Monday. I know you said you had a headache, but you weren't fooling anyone. We brought vodka and ice cream!" Bonnie smiled.

They both came into Elena's house and dragged her into her living room.

"Now sit over there, and tell us what happened," Caroline commanded, gesturing at a spot on the couch.

Elena almost laughed for the first time in 4 days. "Are you seriously going to boss me around in my own house?" She immediately regretted speaking. Her voice was hoarse and it was obvious now that she had cried.

And leave it to Caroline to notice. "You _have_ been crying! Sit! Speak!"

She explained everything. About Damon and how he was perfectly mysterious but also difficult and volatile. About how she thought they had formed a friendship of sorts and how it was all a lie. About Damon's hurtful words and how she never wanted to see him again.

Caroline and Bonnie were the ideal best friends, of course, nodding at whatever she said and throwing casual insults his way. The support helped in a way, but something was very wrong and it would probably take a lot longer to fix. After a while they just stayed in the kitchen, too lazy to get up every time they needed more vodka or ice cream.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Elena confessed to them after one too many vodka sundaes. Caroline and Bonnie were smart. They knew getting an answer out of her meant a lot of alcohol.

"Elena, we've known you for a while. You don't let guys govern your life. What's the real problem here?"

She hesitated before answering, "I just- I just don't think I have a future anymore!"

"Aw, sweetie…" Caroline leaned forward and hugged her. Bonnie joined them in a group hug as Elena finally cried. Nobody knew what to say. Because what do you say to someone who has lost all hope and doesn't know what to believe anymore?

Caroline was quick to convince Jenna to allow a sleepover, but Elena assured them that she would be fine on her own. She was extremely grateful for her two friends, but she had to be alone now. Work out some things.

"Are you sure you don't want us to sleep over?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, seriously, it's not a problem," Bonnie agreed.

"Guys, I'm sure." Elena nodded as if to convince herself. Her friends looked at each other, clearly still apprehensive.

"If you're sure…" Bonnie said. "Just call us if you need us, okay? We'll pick up."

She nodded and closed the door gently. Rushing back to her bedroom, she flopped on her pillow and groaned. She was going to have such a bad hangover tomorrow…

Thank goodness she had already finished her homework. She was already getting complaints and warnings from teachers. As if she had ever done anything like this before! Couldn't they just cut her some slack? That wasn't even the worst part. Mr Mikaelson had even called Jenna to ask why she was absent.

She had nothing else to do for the day, so she brushed her teeth, took a scalding hot shower and slipped into her teddy bear pyjamas. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. She took a deep breath and started speaking to her reflection.

"You, Elena Gilbert, are destined for greatness," she said firmly. "You, Elena Gilbert, will be awesome. I'm going to make sure of that. You are going to shine as brightly as the light above my head right now!"

Just at that moment the light flickered before going out completely. Perfect. Just perfect. Elena muttered a curse before rushing out of the bathroom. She had a few candles somewhere, if she could just find them. Feeling her way around in the dark, she climbed up the stairs. She found one and lit it with a match before rushing back to her room. She would just write in her diary for 15 minutes and then go to sleep, she told herself. Any more than that and she'd probably die of exhaustion.

For some reason though, words evaded her. She couldn't write a single word, which was strange for her, since usually she was able to confide all her feelings to her diary. She attributed it to her current state of mind: drunk.

Snapping the book shut, she realized that the heat radiating from the candle on her table was getting to her. It was just too warm. She couldn't switch on the fan, so she opened the window. In the pale moonlight she could just see the silhouette of someone dancing freely to metal in the window of the house next to hers. Damon. As if she needed to be reminded.

She stared for a little while, watching the shape of his well sculpted body move effortlessly in time with the music. He nodded his head a little as he danced. To her horror, he stopped and swerved, his piercing blue eyes capturing her brown ones just before he closed the curtain.

A part of her yearned for that freedom. To be able to do whatever she wanted- no restrictions, no expectations.

She willed herself to fall asleep. It took what seemed like hours, but eventually sleep overpowered her consciousness.

As anticipated, when she woke up the next morning, she was not in the mood for school at all. Her head was splitting with an unfamiliar pain. It had been a long time since her last hangover. Still, she couldn't afford to be absent again. She got ready as quickly as she could and grabbed a muffin for breakfast.

"Wow, somebody's in a bad mood." Jenna was surprised to see Elena like this. She wasn't the typical teenager.

"You got that right, Jenna," she smiled and was about to slam the door when she heard her aunt say something else.

"Hey, Elena, is something wrong? Tell me later okay? I'll be home today evening. Oh, right. Before I forget, Mr Salvatore asked if I could give this package to Damon, but I'm running late and I don't know how urgent it is and-"

Elena sighed. "That's alright, hand it over."

Jenna grinned. "Thanks, sweetheart. You're a lifesaver. Seriously though, I'll see you today evening, okay?"

Elena nodded before heading out.

Damon was outside doing crunches. He was going to be late!

"Damon, what are you doing here? You aren't even in your uniform yet! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yes, _mom," _he rolled his eyes at her. "I'll be ready soon. What brings you to this side of hell today?"

"Oh," Elena blushed and held out the tiny package. "This. Sorry, I'll be leaving now…" She pivoted on her heel and was about to leave when she felt Damon's hand on her arm.

"Wait," he said. It was a simple word, but his tone was almost pleading.

"What?"

He got up and looked at her, through her, just like he had done the previous night. Her breathing hitched as he leaned in closer. His proximity was intoxicating. In a good way.

He wanted to say something else entirely, but instead he said, "I don't want to catch you staring at me from your window again."

Elena was about to retort, but he continued, "If you insist on staring, you can call me and warn me first. Now do you want a ride to school? It looks like it's going to rain and," he paused to rip open the package and stepped back, releasing her hand. "It seems like I got my car keys just in time."

She was not expecting that. A little taken aback, she didn't know what to say. Trapped in a car with the infamous Damon Salvatore? Who seemed to have forgotten everything that he had said on Friday? No thanks. Still, he was right. The sky was grey and overcast. She agreed reluctantly.

He invited her in to wait and she stepped in. His house had the same layout as hers, all the houses on the street did. Still, his was so quintessentially Damon that she smiled. It was decorated all in deep wooden colours and his furniture was black and glass. She couldn't see a single personal item aside from three picture frames on his mantle. The one on the left she didn't recognize. The one in the middle was unfamiliar, though she bore a striking resemblance to Damon. The one on the right, however, she knew very well.

It was her. All the colour drained from her face as she took in the picture of her as a little girl. How long had he had this?

"I've had that for years now," he said from behind her, as if he could read her mind. "But the past is the past. Now come on, we're going to be late.

Elena nodded and closed the door behind her, still wondering how she had managed to forget that bit of her past.

He led her to his car, a '69 Chevy Camaro. Blue.

"Wow, I'm surprised you even own something that isn't black."

He smirked. "That's sweet. Actually my mother bought it for me. She said it matches my eyes or is as close as it's going to get. You were looking at her picture earlier."

Elena was now filled with guilt. As if to match her mood, droplets started to fall from the sky.

"It's alright, no reason to feel awkward. I've told you everything."

"Damon, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. Feud or no feud, what had happened was wrong.

"No problem, Elena. Actually, you know what? I'm sorry. For what I said. I was just trying to get Alaric off my back. I don't hate you."

"Forget it," Elena gave him a small smile.

"Looks like we've reached. Now I'm going to find a parking space." He opened the door for Elena and held her hand in his again. "And I mean it. I could never hate you. See you in class, I guess." He got back in and drove off, leaving Elena more confused than ever.

Damon was a strange one.

* * *

**Author's note: So? Opinions? Please let me know what you think. Please don't feel obligated to review or anything. Just mail me sometime so we can fangirl squee over Delena together XD**


	6. Burning Out

**Author's Note: Wow, I'm really, really late this time. And I don't even come bearing Delena awesomeness. I did write the next chapter in advance though (and backed up in 5 different places), so that will be up on Saturday, no delay. Once again, I'm sorry.**

**Shout-out to my amazing readers and reviewers though. Couldn't do it without you. And for those of you who read my other story, updates on that on Saturday as well.**

**This chapter is dedicated to nobody, because it's sad and frustrating, but the next chapter is dedicated to you guys. In particular, the mysterious M who reviews my story.**

**Presenting: That Burning Feeling, again!**

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"Hey, so what's going on?" Alaric asked Damon the same morning. He looked unusually broody today and that was normally Stefan's thing. Damon had always been the reckless, carefree brother, always sneaking off to the pub with him to get drunk (actually, Alaric used to get him drunk in order to get to know him better, even when Damon was just 16). Stefan was studious and spent his time holed up in his room with a book. At least, from what Alaric had seen of Damon's video chats with Stefan.

"Daddy issues," Damon sighed. "Hey, if you want to take advantage of me, I'm totally vulnerable," he joked. His typical go-to defence, why had Alaric expected any different?

"Be serious, Damon. What did Giuseppe do this time?" In the short time that Damon had known Alaric, he became more of a father figure to him than Giuseppe Salvatore had ever been. Ever since his mother passed away, Damon respected nobody in the world more than Alaric. And Elena.

"He wants to take over all three of my companies. He said it's probably best for them because I'm only going to wreck them anyway." Giuseppe was probably right about that. Though Damon was a remarkably talented business person, his true talent was screwing things up. He knew that. Heck, thanks to the tabloids, the whole world knew that!

"Are you sure? You haven't spoken to him in years, you might have misunderstood…" And that was Ric being falsely optimistic, of course. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that a leprechaun would come out from nowhere and pull him into another world saying 'It was all a dream…'

Damon scoffed, "I think I can understand common English, thanks. No, he sent a freaking letter with Elena. In a _package_, because that's not conspicuous at all." He rolled his eyes. "He wants me to sell to Stefan, his little minion. He's freaking 17! He's not ready for this."

"I guess I just don't see what the problem is. They're your companies. If you don't want to sell, don't sell." It all seemed so simple when Ric said it like that. Of _course _he was the owner of the companies. And in an _ideal _world, he had complete control over his life. Nobody knew that behind the confident smirk that Damon always wore was a father, always pushing him to his limit, always pushing him over the edge. Always holding something over him. No rewards, only punishments.

"Ric! He _knows. _About Katherine, about everything! He's threatening to spread it around if I don't hand them over." If anybody found out what had happened, his reputation would go down the drain. The way he saw it, he was losing the companies either way.

"How did he find out? Nobody knows about that except both of us and…Stefan. Son of a- Damon, what are you going to do? Actually, hold that thought. I have lawyer friends that may be able to help." Ric had quickly put two and two together. Stefan had always been an annoying little mole. Taking full advantage of Damon's overprotective big brother nature, Giuseppe had conveniently placed Stefan under Damon's watch. Until Damon had finally figured out what was going on, Stefan had dutifully noted every detail of Damon's life and reported it to his father.

"Giuseppe has lawyers too. I signed a document when I started up. The Katherine thing nullifies most of my rights for the next 5 years." Even now, Damon regretted signing that contract. He had been so naïve, such a child. He was eager to start his own business, to make use of his tremendous potential which would have been wasted working anywhere else. Until their mother had died, Giuseppe had bred Damon to work hard, to maximize efficiency. Like a robot.

Stefan, the younger son, had a trust fund. Damon had to earn his own money. As anyone with knowledge of business knows, you need to have money to make money. So when Damon wanted to start his own company, he had nowhere to turn except his father. And as it turned out, Giuseppe had taken advantage of Damon's minor lapse.

"Well, don't make any hasty decisions and you should be fine. Have you spoken to Stefan about this?"

"It didn't go so well. He, like my father, thinks I'm going to screw things up. He also thinks that the only reason I'm doing this is to get back at him for Katherine. Someone needs to tell him that the world doesn't revolve around him and I have a LIFE outside him!"

"Damon, I know. Stop yelling, the other students are giving you strange looks." Damon had forgotten that he was in school. Elena passed by, giving him a small smile and a wave. He waved back, momentarily forgetting his troubles. He had really dodged a bullet with her, hadn't he? He was lucky she was so forgiving. He knew he was a difficult person. He had a mercurial temperament to say the least.

"I guess I'll see you later, Ric?"

Damon went on his way to homeroom after meeting with Stefan to discuss the package he had received earlier that morning. He was certainly glad he had cleared things up with Elena earlier because things with Stefan certainly hadn't gone well. The last thing he needed was more trouble. He got enough of that without going looking for it.

That was when he was ambushed by two girls. Normally, he would have been flattered, but these two- a blonde one and a brunette looked determined to kill him. Actually, he recognized them from somewhere.

"You're Elena's friends," he realized, vaguely remembering seeing a picture of the three of them at Elena's house. In the picture, the three of them were a lot younger, maybe about 11 or 12. They were at Elena's house wearing pajamas-probably for a sleepover or something- and all grinning gap-toothed smiles. Cute.

"I'm Caroline, this is Bonnie and you," the blonde one stabbed at his shoulder with her perfectly manicured fingernail. "You must be stupid, because you messed with our friend."

"Wait what?" What was going on?

"Don't play stupid! We know what you said to Elena!" The blonde, Caroline, kept stabbing. It didn't hurt much, until Caroline realized that stabbing with her fingernail elicited more tortured screams from him.

"Ow! For God's sake, stop poking me! I didn't say anything to Elena!" And it was true. After he had driven her here, he hadn't seen her at all. He had skipped most of his classes to talk to Stefan.

"Oh, that's right," the other one, Bonnie, stepped in. "You insulted her behind her back."

Oh. That.

"You don't know her at all. At _all._ So why don't you back off and get a life?" Caroline said leaning towards him in an attempt to intimidate him. He would have laughed, but there was a frightening glint in both girls' eyes that warned him to play it safe.

"Seriously, Damon. Why did you come back to Mystic Falls? Slept with all the girls in New York already?" That was it. Time to clear this mess up and send them back to whichever hole they had crawled out of.

"Look, it's none of your business, but clearly you don't talk to her enough. We already sorted all that out," he smirked. "Now I suggest you move on with your sparkly little lives and maybe gossip about that cute boy you saw yesterday…" He pushed Caroline aside and walked off unaffected.

Actually, they may have had a point. He really didn't know her, at all. Maybe it would be better if he just stayed away. He was sure he was only bothering her by constantly playing the little game of hot-and-cold they had going. Were they even friends?

Damon thought back to all the times he had seen her since he had returned to Mystic Falls. Every conversation they had was awkward. Every argument they had ended with disappointment glimmering in Elena's beautiful brown eyes. He had never wanted to be the cause of Elena's pain. Never.

What had he been thinking when he came back? Did he think that everything was going to be perfect with them again? Sure, she had been his friend when they were younger, but things changed. People changed. God knew there had been plenty of time for both of them to change. It had been silly of him to expect Elena to welcome him back with open arms. Everywhere he went, his reputation preceded him. Why would Mystic Falls be any different? Fate had decided that he had to repent for all his past transgressions in the worse way possible.

He had to let her go. It was the right thing to do. There was a connection between them, a spark that, if they unleashed on the world, could grow to engulf entire forests in flames. It was beautiful, magnificent in its sheer magnitude. There would always be a special place in his heart for her, but if he truly wanted to spare her the searing pain that he felt in his chest, he had to set her free.

When Elena did eventually meet him in class, she smiled. Not the tiny, reserved smile she usually gave him, but a bright smile that he had last seen her wear when he had given her a gift in the sandbox. God, she was so beautiful, even more so when she smiled. Elena was reserved and she had a wall behind which she hid her most important emotions, just like his. When she smiled, she lost all her inhibitions, she was free of tension, free of worry, free of regret, simply free. And he wanted her to smile all the time.

He strode towards her before hesitating, remembering his decision. He had to let her go. He smiled politely but impersonally before settling down next to her. He didn't lean towards her or immediately engage her in friendly conversation as he would do normally, instead choosing to sit stiffly at a distance from her.

She noticed immediately, though he was discreet enough that the rest of the class didn't catch on.

"What the hell, Damon? What happened?" she still smiled brightly, hoping to cheer him up.

"Elena," he began, taking a deep breath as if to reassure himself of his decision. Her smile faded instantly, as if she was expecting bad news. "I don't think we should be friends anymore. All it's doing is hurting you. And now, with the competition and everything that's going on, I don't think it's fair on you if I put more pressure on you. Please, don't feel obliged to be my friend…"

"Look," Elena said, capturing his gaze with fiery brown eyes filled with anger. "If you don't want to be my friend, just say it. You don't need to make up some rubbishy story to spare my feelings. You're not the first person to hurt me and I bet you won't be the last. Just do me a favour, and tell me why." At this her eyes softened slightly, as if she hoped that she had misunderstood.

Damon hated himself for what he was about to do. _I promise you, Elena, _he thought, _This is the end of the push and pull. I'm sorry for seeming so indecisive, for forever changing my mind about us. But I swear, this is the last time I will hurt you. This is goodbye. _As he thought it, he realized it was true.

"I'm sorry, Elena. This is goodbye."

"Gosh, which movie did you come from? You're such an ass, Damon."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms Gilbert, Mr Salvatore." They had been so caught up in their conversation that they had completely forgotten that they were in Ric's class.

"If you're just about wrapping up your little conversation, would you two mind handing in your homework assignments?" Elena and Damon glanced at each other sheepishly before handing their papers to Ric. A few others snickered at the back of the class.

The rest of the class was rather uneventful. Elena and Damon didn't glance at each other, both too stubborn to give in first. Ric droned on about the competition until the bell rang. Nobody was in the mood to hear it. It was Monday!

"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…" he said.

Elena swiftly rose from her seat and walked to the door.

"Elena, wait!" Damon heard himself cry out.

"Save it, Damon. We'll talk when I feel like it," Elena sighed and left Damon alone in the classroom to think about what had happened.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, pleasedon'tkillme! The next chapter is Delena awesome, I swear. It'll all be worth it, even if it is my crappy writing skills that bring them to life.**

**Can't wait for Saturday!**

**Also, if I haven't responded, to your review, poke me, stab me, whatever. And if you have written something, even better, because I do check the profiles of all my reviewers.**


	7. Burning Determination

**Author's Note: I know I said I'd update on Saturday, but I figured you guys wouldn't mind if I updated early, so here I am! Must be a nice change from waiting months for me to update, right? So I'll put the NEXT chapter up on Saturday, and till then you can (hopefully) enjoy this!**

**If you read this story, but did not see my update from yesterday, please read that chapter first :)**

**With no further delay, That Burning Feeling!**

* * *

The cracks on her ceiling had grown since the last time Elena had looked at it. Once, when she was very young and crying over something a bully had said, her mother had come up to see what was going on. Miranda Gilbert had embraced her crying daughter and took her to school the next day.

That morning, Elena had felt more terrified than ever before, dreading the chance of seeing the bully again. Miranda had noticed her downward gaze and said, "If we all go through life looking down, we're bound to bump into something unpleasant eventually. Lifting Elena's chin, she said, "Face life head on and you'll avoid most bad things. And if you do find yourself lost with nobody to help you, look up to the heavens and think from a fresh perspective."

She barely understood what had happened back then. Now, she realized the meaning behind her mother's words. Right now, she missed her mom more than anything. How was she supposed to study for the test the next day if all she could think about was Damon? So what would she do in this situation? What other angle could she look at this situation from?

Okay. She would think about this analytically and systematically. Think about it as the testing of hypotheses about the working of Damon's mind. She grabbed a pen and her diary. Exhaling and pushing her hair behind her shoulders, she began writing.

_Experiment: Talking to Damon this morning_

_Result: Failure and argument_

_Observation: Damon was fine last evening_

_Inference: Something must have happened between yesterday evening and today morning to make him think that we weren't friends._

It was true that ever since they had first met they had done nothing but fight, but she knew that they could get past it. Actually, they were probably more alike than she had initially thought. At first glance, they looked like polar opposites, always arguing. They managed to annoy even the most laid back people with their incessant fighting.

Still, they were both lost in the world, lonely, though surrounded by people whenever she saw him. Both in need of guidance, in need of support. Both strong on the outside, but crushingly vulnerable when not in the public eye. Both of them had a lot to gain from being friends. They were twin halves of a soul, both leading different lives, but telling the same story.

Elena reminisced about when they had first met in the parking lot. He was such a disappointment to her. It was surprising how much a person could change in such a short time, though. Actually, if she thought back to his speech, it wasn't harsh in the slightest. He truly believed that he was protecting her. It was kind of sweet, actually. But what was he trying to protect her from?

How could she be angry with him now? A little voice at the back of her mind told her that she was being too lenient in her judgment of Damon, that she was rationalizing his actions and mood swings more than she should, that he was only going to hurt her in the end. After all, she was always just a little too trusting, believing that everybody had some good in them…

"_Why don't you let people see the good in you?"_

"_Because when people see good, they expect good. And I don't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations."_

* * *

No. It was time she stopped listening to that voice. Her friends always teased her for playing on the safe side. In her opinion, they were too reckless. There was a middle ground, right? A rule of business states that success comes from taking risks. If she didn't take her chances on him now, where would that leave her? Twenty years later, she'd still be thinking of what could have been.

She shook her head violently, as if trying to physically knock all indecision and insecurity out of her head. Elena only hoped that she would be able to find him and that he would listen to reason. Actually, no. She was facing her fear of confrontation, but she wasn't brave enough to just march up to him and demand an answer.

He had given her his number when he had first joined school. Jokingly, he had scrawled it on her palm and said something about booty calls. She had smiled knowingly and tapped it into her phone- just in case. Now she was glad she had. All I have to do now is hope he didn't give me a fake number, she thought nervously, her hand shaking as she scrolled down her contact list.

Pressing the big green button on the screen, she waited impatiently, her courage fading more with every beep. She thought it would be funny to have a minute of suspense before every call? Haha, no, not anymore.

Beep. Was he too late?

Beep. Would he pick up the call?

Beep. Could she really do this?

After the most agonizing 14 seconds of her life, an obviously grouchy Damon responded.

"Whoever the hell this is, do you have any idea what time it is?" he snarled through the phone. Actually, she had no idea what time it was or for how long she had stared at the ceiling earlier. Looking at her phone display, her eyes bugged out. 10:30! So soon? How had that happened?

"Oh, um, sorry," she stammered.

"Elena?" His voice softened immediately. "How did you get this number?"

"You gave it to me, remember? Sorry, were you asleep?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I can be cranky when I wake up." Elena carefully stored this information in her mind, though she had no idea why she would ever need it.

"So…" Damon said, trying to break the silence. "Finally taking me up on that 'friends with benefits' deal?"

"What? No!" she temporarily fumbled with her words, still trying to process that. Then she remembered why she had called. "I actually called about your little speech today. We need to talk about that."

"Elena…" He was clearly not in the mood for this. Well, too bad for him, Elena thought defiantly.

"That's my name. Anyway, don't worry. I have the same amount of patience for long speeches as you do- none. Though I do have a proposition for you…" She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Damon and Elena always engaged in playful banter, with both trying to one-up the other. For some reason, that meant that everything that came out of their mouths sounded like subtle insinuation.

And Damon thrived on catching her slip-ups and using them to embarrass her, so it was no surprise when he caught this one.

"My, my, Elena. That sounds…interesting to say the least. Someone's clearly been thinking about this for a while now…" Elena's cheeks flamed pink, and as if Damon could see her, he snickered. Wait, he _could _see her! From the window! She struggled to find words to express her irritation.

"Alright, seriously, what are you suggesting?"

"I was thinking about what you said. We're not really friends. At least, not yet. We just talk in school and in the hallway. We're neighbours, right? We should meet more often." She wasn't giving him a chance to speak on purpose. If she heard the slightest discouragement, she would lose her newfound bravery. Biting her lip before continuing, she said, "Meet me. Tonight. Now."

Damon sounded taken aback by this. "Elena, what are you saying? You're joking, right?"

She smiled. Of course it would be hard for him to believe that poor, innocent Elena was suggesting sneaking out. "I'm serious. We need to talk."

"Are you absolutely sure?" he stressed the last word, clearly unable to believe what Elena was saying. He had probably expected her to yell or ignore him or say hurtful things.

"You're hopeless, Damon," she sighed and hung up. It was time to take matters into her own hands. Groaning as she got off her bed, she did some stretching exercises. Carefully, she slid her windowpane sideways, watching vigilantly to make sure she wouldn't wake Jeremy up. Climbing out and down the tree stealthily, she landed like a cat and smiled proudly. Her dad didn't call her 'little monkey' when she was a kid for nothing!

Now things would be harder. She would have to scale a pipe to get to his window. Readying herself, she jumped on. Climbing the first four feet was easy. The cement on the outer wall had come off, revealing the bricks underneath. They made excellent footholds. After that, she struggled a little more. The pipe was kind of slippery, being covered with smooth metallic paint. Somehow, she stumbled upwards until

"Ow!" Elena cried as she hit the back of her head on a branch. "Shit," she cursed angrily. Damon's window shutters flew open. He was probably checking for raccoons or something, when he saw her, still clinging on to the pipe.

"Hi, Damon," she smiled weakly.

He didn't know what to say or what to expect anymore. He was clearly flustered by her. Probably thought she was drunk or something. He helped her in and got her settled on a chair in his room.

"Okay. You're calling the shots right now, so say what you have to," Damon said, sitting across from her and bending towards her like he had done at her house.

"We haven't ever gone out as friends. I don't want you to think that we're not close or that I'm only hanging out with you out of pity. So here I am, of my accord. I want to party with you tonight, Damon Salvatore."

This was it. Do or die. She knew that his response would be his final answer, no matter how many times she asked. If he was scared and was backing away, he would use his go to defense- sarcasm and witty remarks. If he accepted, he would let her know.

"Before I give you an answer, I have to know. Why aren't you scared of getting in trouble?" He was genuinely curious; she could see it in his eyes.

"I'm fearless," she answered mockingly, before divulging the truth. "No, Jenna's on another one of her trips and Jeremy is out of it for today. I won't get in trouble," she reassured him. Again, it was so clear to her that he knew her and cared about her. It made her feel special.

He smiled at her. It wasn't his signature smirk, but his genuine heart-warming smile that reached the centre of her soul. "Alright," he said. "Let's go."

They got in his Camaro and after getting Elena comfortable and secure with her seatbelt strapped across her shoulder, Damon switched on the engine.

"Where are we going?" Elena asked, feeling a certain thrill creep through her veins. She was actually excited about this!

Of course she was. Damon was the embodiment of everything she wished she could be. Carefree, accepting and relaxed. No worries in the world, no fear of the consequences.

"It's a surprise," he said mischievously, winking at her. He didn't speak again until half an hour later, but kept glancing at her in a content manner.

* * *

"We've reached," he finally said.

Elena assessed the surroundings. The road was relatively deserted, with only the occasional bike speeding past. The only building in the vicinity was a seedy looking bar called "To the Max". Ugh. That had some ugly implications.

"You brought me to a place called "To the Max?" Elena asked drily.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Elena." He swatted at her with his free hand while parking with the other. "I swear, you'll like this place. I know the owner…"

He walked into the bar and sat on a bar stool, leaning on the counter. The place was packed with people grinding to loud, obnoxious music. It wasn't her style, but it actually looked kind of okay.

A few drinks later, they had both loosened up considerably. They had made idle chit-chat for an hour or so until they ran out of things to talk about.

"So where is this owner you speak of?" Elena asked, calling his bluff. He was lying about that earlier, right?

"You're looking at him. I bought this place from an elderly couple named Bree and Max. Which hopefully explains the name. They sold it to me on the condition that I didn't change the name. It's one of my more profitable side ventures."

Elena gawked at him as if he had just told her he was supernatural.

"Don't look at me like that!" he bit back a laugh at her expression, which she was sure was hilarious.

Spontaneously, Fun Elena decided to show up.

"Dance with me, Damon," she said, sliding off her bar stool and holding her hand out to him.

* * *

**Author's Note: Am I evil, or what? I leave you to wonder what happens next until Saturday!**

**And since someone asked, I think there will be 10 or 11 chapters ahead. Probably no epilogue.**

**Until next time,**

**FFAA :)**

**Also, please tell me if there's any way I can improve...**


	8. Something's burning

**Author's Note: Okay, this is the longest chapter yet and I hope it will be worth the wait. If you didn't get the chance to read why I was so late, the author's not from this Thursday can be read at the bottom of this chapter.**

**M- I think I mentioned this somewhere, but I probably should have made it clearer. Stefan's a year younger than Elena (he's 17) and Damon is a year older (19). He postponed his last year of high school to take over and run two companies. I hope that's clearer from the edits I've made to previous chapters :)**

**So after a hiatus of...three weeks, I think, I present**

**That Burning Feeling!**

* * *

"Wait, what?" Damon looked down at Elena's outstretched hand, then back to her face. It just didn't make sense to him. Elena Gilbert didn't dance, and she most certainly didn't dance with him! The music was loud. Maybe he had misheard her.

Yet, there she was, standing right in front of him, hand still waiting for an answer.

One second passed. Then two.

Damon watched Elena's face taking in every detail, trying to see if she was joking. Why would she want to dance with him anyway?

She was smiling, but he could see in her eyes that her confidence in herself was wavering.

"Dance with me, Damon. I want to dance with you," she repeated.

Hesitating a little, he nodded, but ignored her hand. After what had happened that one time he had been in her house, he didn't think it was the best idea. Especially if Elena was drunk and in one of these moods. Still, what was the harm in humouring her? She just wanted to dance, and with all the pressure, she needed it.

Elena's eyes brightened immediately and Damon couldn't help but smile back at her. He wanted to make her smile more often. The last few times they had met were so full of pain and anger. Why couldn't every conversation they have be like this?

Clearly she had noticed that Damon ignored her hand, because she grabbed onto it and dragged him onto the dance floor. His eyes widened at the sudden sensation, but he kept silent.

The song in the background was a catchy, upbeat tune that Damon kind of liked. Just his kind of music, actually. Elena didn't seem to enjoy it as much. She wrinkled her nose, but started moving to the rhythm anyway. Damon observed how she suddenly seemed so much happier. As if a weight had been lifted from her and she wasn't held back by fear or insecurities anymore.

"What are you staring at?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Damon hadn't realized he was staring.

"Nothing," he blurted quickly, then regained his composure, his face shifting back into his smirk. "What are _you _doing here so late at night with someone you hardly know?"

Apparently Elena had prepared for this. "I'm trying to figure out what the hell _you_ were doing today trying to wreck our friendship. Your turn."

Oh right. That. "I-" He didn't know how to explain that, so he cut himself off with a shake of his head. "Just forget about that."

"Damon!" Elena yelled, a little louder than necessary. Her voice could be heard over the loud music and a few people actually stopped and stared. "Oops," she said, giggling hysterically.

"Hey," the bartender tapped Damon on the shoulder. "Are you sure she's not a minor?"

"Yeah," Damon sighed. "The girl just can't hold her alcohol. Guess you learn something new every day. Don't worry; I'll get her out of here soon."

"I'm right here, you know," Elena said to them. "And I'm not drunk; I'm just in a _mood._ Now you'd better start giving me answers. And dance, Damon!" She tugged at his hand and he relented eventually. He pointed out, "This really isn't a good place to talk. And I don't really want to either, so let's just have fun, okay?

A little later, Damon was still dancing. With the amount of liquor she had consumed, Damon had expected Elena to be on the floor by now. Abruptly, the song changed to a slow one. Guess those dance lessons his mother had made him take when he was ten were really going to pay off. Damn.

Elena placed her hands on his back, effectively pulling him closer. How was he going to get out of this now? Did he even want to? Actually, it was kind of nice. Elena was warm and she fit perfectly against him, not leaning into him like most other girls did. Then again, Elena wasn't 'most other girls'.

They swayed in time to the music, which was playing quite softly. Other couples around them were dancing too. A couple in the centre was taking the focus away from everybody else. They looked like trained dancers. This was a good time to have the awkward, emotionally charged conversation and Elena seemed to read his mind.

"You still haven't answered my question, you know," Elena mumbled softly, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder.

"Alright, fine. Your friends kind of ambushed me. You know, crazy blonde chick and judgey silent girl. They said I was hurting you and I realized it was true."

"Damon…" Elena seemed to sober immediately. "You've never meant to hurt me."

"I know, but somehow I always do. I don't regret us being friends and I don't regret any moment I've had with you. When two people just fit, they just fit. We're like that. At least, we were. I guess these last weeks, I've been trying to see what's left of that friendship. That's what I do. I push things too hard. Sorry I ended up wrecking it."

"Damon, I don't think there's anything left of whatever we had when we were younger. But I'd like to start a new friendship with you. A fresh start is exactly what we need, I think. I mean, how long can you reminisce about what was? I'd love to be your friend." She smiled encouragingly and she really did mean it.

Damon didn't know what to think. A part of him wanted to run that instant. Run back home and take some time to think. It didn't help that he'd never had any real friends except Elena and Alaric. Maybe Katherine at one point, but that was short-lived. They were too similar in all the wrong ways. The Elena he knew had changed, but what was the harm in trying this out?

"Sure, Elena. Let's do that then," he said, spinning her around and surprising her. She landed back in his embrace and giggled happily.

"You know what, Elena? I like you," he looked right at her when he said this. "You know how to laugh." He meant it. Her laugh was unaffected, the only time besides this that he had seen her really let loose.

She blushed a little at the compliment, but said nothing. Actually, it was a bit strange, but she didn't say anything at all for the remainder of their 'date'. Had he unknowingly insulted her? No, how could you take that the wrong way? Maybe she was just starting to feel sick…

Damon looked at his watch. "Shit! Elena, it's 2 AM, we have to go!"

"But I don't want to go, Damon," Elena pouted. He had to say, she was a pretty cute drunk.

"Damon, Damon, Damon, Damon! I like saying your name, Damon-Damon!" And she was out of it.

"Elena, we have to go. We have school tomorrow and you're going to have a killer hangover as it is."

"Shit, we have school tomorrow. Okay, let's go!" she agreed and promptly stumbled into his arms.

"Easy there, Elena," he propped her up and walked her to the car, standing behind her to support her if she fell. To her credit, she only fell once more, which was remarkable.

"Damon, I'm glad I came here tonight. Even if I'm going to be in bed with a hangover tomorrow. I don't think I've ever had fun like this since...Since ever, actually. I've always been boring and reliable. I guess I sacrificed this."

Damon didn't know how to respond to that. He was glad Elena was opening up to him, but how much of it was true and how much was the alcohol talking? Luckily, she continued, not waiting for a response.

"Thank you, Damon. For bringing out the best in me. The fire in me."

She proceeded to pass out in his car seat. Now he would never know. Damon checked that she was strapped in alright and kept driving, now going faster to compensate for the time they had spent talking. There was no way that Elena would skip school, even if her head was killing her, and he had been the one to bring her to a bar. What the hell was he thinking?

When they reached, he unlocked his car door and was about to get out when Elena grabbed his hand. Maybe she hadn't passed out earlier.

"Don't go, Damon," she said and sat up. "Stay with me." Was she crazy?

"Elena, we are _not _going to sleep in the car! You need to go home." It only made sense. And he was not going to sleep in a car. Even his Camaro.

"No, you don't understand! I can't be hungover when I see Jeremy for breakfast in the morning! I have to be a good role model for him!" Trust drunk Elena to still care about being a good sister.

"Alright, fine. Crash at my place, but you're taking the couch." He was not going to give up his bed for her, but he couldn't help but feel a little responsible for her being in this state.

"Fine, fine. You're rude, you know…" she lifted herself out of the car and walked unsteadily to Damon's door. Damon parked his car and caught up to her. He unlocked the door and held it open for her.

"After you, princess," he smirked. "Your Rent-A-Couch awaits."

"What?" It was a sad day when your only friend was too drunk to appreciate your wit.

"Never mind. I'm just going to…" Grabbing a toothbrush, a post-it and a pen, he continued. "I'm just going to write down some stuff for you to read in the morning. Let's see…Okay. The guest bathroom is about 12 feet left of the couch. You'll find toothpaste there and the spare toothbrush is on the table. And I guess that's it. I'll make breakfast in the morning."

"Okay," Elena nodded and sat on the couch, surveying her bed for the night. Damon walked away and got into his bed. He hoped Elena would take his advice and go straight to sleep, but he doubted it. She would probably exert herself and pass out for real.

Never mind that, he had to sleep himself. They had a huge test tomorrow which he had to ace. His GPA was slipping slightly since he had skipped all the retests he was supposed to do for the tests he had missed at the beginning of the school year. It wasn't because he didn't care- though to tell the truth, he _didn't _care- but because he'd been too busy.

Wonder what dear old daddy would say about that. Probably wouldn't care. It just made it easier for him to take over the companies. Same went for Stefan. He had never understood why Elena had gone out with the idiot in the first place. He knew they had broken up recently, but honestly, he expected Elena to have better taste than that.

Wait. No. No expectations. Their new friendship meant that they couldn't expect things of each other. He would accept her however she was, whatever she did. He owed that, at least, to her.

With nothing else to think about, he quickly fell asleep. The real surprise, however, was when he woke up the next morning to find his arm wrapped around Elena's waist protectively. He didn't want to move and wake her up. How had this happened? She had slept on the couch!

Elena woke up, looking a little bit groggy, but smiling after noticing Damon.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Why so grouchy?"

"Good…morning?" Great, now he sounded like a caveman! He cleared his throat and tried to open his eyes wider. "Elena, what are you doing in my bed?"

"The couch was lumpy and cold. I couldn't sleep. Now go make me breakfast. I need coffee so bad…" How was she not freaking out about this? The old Elena...didn't exist anymore, he reminded himself.

"We don't have time for breakfast," Damon reasoned. "I'll get you that coffee, but we have school, remember?"

"Oh, school. No. We're already over two hours late and I have a terrible, _terrible _headache. I already called in sick for both of us, so we're staying in today." Late for school? What? No! They had to go to school. He was a terrible influence on her, and at the time it mattered most. They could probably still make it, but Elena would be in so much trouble.

Damon was always getting in trouble anyway, so that didn't matter. Actually, what the heck. They needed a break. It was surprising that she was the one to suggest it, but it was necessary. Still didn't explain why she was in his bed. There were two guest bedrooms in the house. Had the girl never heard of privacy or personal space?

"Alright, fine," he conceded. "I'm going to make breakfast and coffee. Then you," he pointed at her. "Have some serious explaining to do."

A lesser known fact about Damon was that he could cook. Nothing gourmet, but still, he was pretty good at it. He had learned because he was a picky eater and cooking for himself was the only way to ensure that food was up to his standards.

He carefully and efficiently went about mixing pancake batter and warming milk for Elena's coffee. Placing the bowl down on the table, he walked over to the fridge to take out a carton of orange juice. He didn't really like coffee. He became conscious of his audience.

"How long have you been standing there?" Damon growled.

"Long enough," she said, kissing him passionately on the lips. He felt nothing. Good, an improvement. "I'm bored, Damon," she whined.

"Find something to do. And don't you have somewhere to be?" This was not a good way to begin a day.

"Doesn't she have somewhere to be?" Katherine jerked her head in Elena's direction. Elena! How much had she seen?

"Actually…" Elena stood there a little awkwardly. "I think I should go. It was nice to meet you…" she didn't know the other girl's name.

"Katherine," she said, tossing her hair and smiling curtly. "I'm Damon's girlfriend."

* * *

**Author's note: So... did I totally troll you over there or what? How many of you thought I was talking about Elena when Katherine kissed Damon? And next time, you'll find out exactly how much of what Katherine said is the truth. Also, as promised, the explanation for the delay can be found below ↓**

**I was supposed to update this one two Saturdays ago, I know. The thing is, the chapter was done, but I wasn't sure whether to put it up or not because some of you were getting confused. So over the last two weeks, I've been slowly editing the chapters I already have to hopefully clear up some of your questions :)**

**Remember, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, but I find it a little difficult to answer questions from guest reviewers (because I have to review my own story then and it messes up the count) so I'll try to show not tell as far as those are concerned.**

**There will be around 11-16 more chapters, I think. Depends on how much fluff I decide to put in. Overall, I'm happy with how the story is progressing, but I feel like it can still be MUCH better. I'm working on a sort of *final* version of this story, so maybe after this one is done, I'll put that up too.**

**Thanks to you guys *again* for putting up with me and my horrible update frequency. I'm thrilled that so many people like it, because I wasn't expecting this response.**

**[/end explanation]**

**Seriously, you guys are awesome. Please don't give up on me!**


	9. Burning Through

**Author's Note: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Katherine is just wrecking everything!**

**Also, at the bottom of the chapter, I have an important question for you...**

* * *

Elena stiffened considerably. She was growing increasingly uncomfortable as tensions and tempers rose in the room. To make things worse, she still had no idea what was going on. Leaving still seemed like the best option for her. She was about to make her exit by slinking out discreetly, but Damon stepped in front of her, effectively blocking any chance of leaving.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon snarled at the intruder. Katherine. Her name sounded like poison in Elena's mind.

"I think I should go…" Elena reiterated, hoping to make her point.

"Stay, Elena," Damon said, quietly but commandingly. "Go," Katherine said in an equally commanding, but oddly dangerous tone.

Noticing Elena's hesitation, she said, "Go on home, honey. Let the adults take care of things here." Her condescending tone was suffocating and Elena was about to retaliate when she noticed Damon glancing at her contemplatively, as if he was starting to agree with Katherine.

"Wow. Just…Damon, do you want me to stay or go?" she asked. "I mean, you obviously have some things to clear up with your girlfriend here." She had to know. She had stayed the night in his bed. That wasn't okay if he had a girlfriend. It was subtle, right? Bringing up the girlfriend thing while making a point?

Obviously not. "She's not my girlfriend…" Damon mumbled almost inaudibly and let it drop, turning and storming away to his room.

Katherine seemed to pick up on it immediately and smiled evilly. "Honey, I wouldn't believe anything he says right now, would you?"

What did she mean by that?

As if she had read Elena's mind, she continued, relishing the effect she was having on her. "Well, it's just that, you know, after everything Damon's been through…He probably hasn't told you much. See, the thing with Damon is he's had a few tough relationships with his family." She paused artfully, giving Elena time to answer without giving away too much information.

Taking the bait, Elena nodded. "He told me about his mother dying and his father favouring his brother. So?"

Katherine laughed and looked away. Elena didn't know what to think until she explained, "Elena, that's Damon's hook. I mean, girl to girl, we can both admit he's hot, right?" Elena nodded grudgingly, and Katherine also nodded in approval.

"Yeah. So he's the type who compensates for his crappy family by sleeping with every girl in sight. You just fell for his charm. I don't blame you, you wouldn't be the first. I'm sure you've seen details of his escapades all over the tabloids. Actually, I bet he told you that he knew you when you were younger or something."

Elena gasped and began to wonder exactly how well she knew Damon after all. Of course she felt like she could trust him soon after meeting him…But was that just his charm? The allure of the bad boy? She didn't like him like that, but was that what he was trying to do?

"I didn't sleep with him, though!" she said triumphantly after realizing that Katherine was lying. She had to be lying.

"Sweetie, I know. That's because you're that type of girl. A challenge," she said simply, as if it should be common sense. "He's just waiting you out. I'd run while it's still an option."

Elena stood still, processing the information she had just received. Her instinct had been… wrong?

"I'd better go talk to Damon now. See you later?" Katherine glided up Damon's stairs gracefully and Elena watched until her heels disappeared behind a wall.

What had just happened? She bolted out the front door and ran home. If anybody asked where she had been last night, Bonnie would cover for her. It didn't come to that, the house was empty. She trudged up the stairs to her bedroom, her feet suddenly feeling a lot heavier.

Oh God, she had been so stupid! She wasn't a risk taker! She was never a risk taker! Yep, Elena Gilbert liked to hide behind her walls where nobody could hurt her.

She barely even let Bonnie and Caroline in, sometimes. When the pain was too powerful. Why, then, had she gone with Damon to a bar? That should have been her first clue that he wasn't to be trusted. Caroline had fun, sure, but Elena wasn't the one crying on Bonnie's should every time a boyfriend broke up with her.

Her judgment of Katherine was not well formed. The brunette with curly locks and dark, soulless eyes didn't seem like she would make a good ally. If she was stuck in a dark alley with her, she wouldn't dare turn her back to her. But then, what reason would she have to lie? The more she thought about it, the more she found that fit Katherine's theory.

Her life had been so perfect until Damon monopolized her mind. After all, that was probably all it was. A carefully plotted scheme, perfected over years of womanizing. Yes, that was it. Elena had just been a pawn in his games.

She laughed when she finally figured out what Damon had been doing. Classic push and pull. He pulled her close by opening up to her, by relating to her and then pushed her away with mood swings and indecision until her natural curiosity got the better of her and she tried to get to know him better. It was like a really predictable movie, except this one wouldn't end with them living happily ever after.

More probably, it would end in a nasty fight which would lead to them not being able to look at each other at their school reunion. She know it was a bit presumptuous of her to decide that Katherine was right and she was just a challenge to Damon, especially when she knew she had no intention of doing anything of the sort with him.

Still, it was more the betrayal than anything else. A part of her still couldn't believe he would do such a horrible thing, especially after she had opened up to him, but the rational part of her shoved that thought into the dark crevices of her brain.

Suddenly, Elena felt claustrophobic. Was she having another anxiety attack? She hadn't had one since her parents had died! But the walls were closing in on her and she could hardly breathe. The door, she had to get to the door. No, there was no time for the door. The window! Forcing herself to take deep breaths like Caroline had taught her, Elena closed her eyes and stumbled over to the glass. She slid the glass pane open, and leaned a little too far forward, tumbling out of her room before she knew what was happening.

She tried to brace herself, successfully shielding her head with her hands, but failing to slow herself down. A searing pain shot through her side as she landed awkwardly on her right knee.

I'm going to be sick,she thought before slipping into the darkness.

A few hours later, she woke up in a white room. Was she in a hospital? Probably after _that_ fall. She tried to sit upright, but cried out in pain when she moved her right elbow. Great, she had probably broken that too. Sure enough, she felt the same nagging pain in her right arm and leg and saw that her arm was already in a cast from the elbow down.

Guess she wouldn't be walking around anytime soon. But wait! What about the contest? What if she couldn't write her essays? She wouldn't be going to class either! And what would Mr Saltzman say? He would be so disappointed; he was always so encouraging…

Strangely enough, the image of Mr Saltzman popped into the room.

"Mr Saltzman? God, my head hurts…" Elena asked hesitantly, wondering if she was hallucinating.

"Elena, good, you're awake. The headache is a side effect. You're loaded on pain meds. Dr Fell told me you'd get up soon. As you may have guessed, you have broken your arm and your knee cap. But she says you're fine and she called your general physician for your files. Now I'm sorry I have to interrogate you, but the police want answers."

The police? What was happening?

"They think it was a suicide attempt," Alaric explained, then narrowed his eyes. "You weren't trying to kill yourself, were you? I mean, I know you've been put under so much pressure, but you wouldn't-"

"I was just feeling a little sick, and I was trying to get some fresh air. My family is genetically clumsy," she reassured him. "Aunt Jenna walked into a knife once. Where exactly am I and how did I get here? And where are Jenna and Jeremy?"

"Hey, hey, slow down, you might have another anxiety attack. Are they regular with you? Elena shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just trying to piece things together. I mean, it's not amnesia or anything, but I have no clue what happened between the fall and now."

"Alright, let's see. It's my day off, so I was out jogging near your house when I heard a scream. And I didn't know where it was coming from. But then I saw you fall and I brought you here. You're in Dr Fell's clinic, because it was closest but you'll be okay. I'd recommend not trying to move much. Jenna can't come, she's snowed in at the airport and Jeremy won't pick up his phone. The doctors asked me to stay here so you'd have a familiar face around when you woke up."

Elena nodded, not quite able to absorb all the information. Her head hurt a little. Alaric seemed to notice and kept silent until she asked, "What about the competition? Will I still be able to write it?"

"Yes, you will," he said and Elena's face relaxed in relief. "They're not sure about your knee, you hit that pretty hard and it might require surgery. They're waiting on the x-rays. But the cast on your arm will be off in 4 weeks."

Elena smiled weakly. At least there was still that. She was overloaded on emotions from the last 3 days and she was glad that some part of her identity still remained. Because being with Damon, even if it was only for a week…it had made her lose who she was.

She discovered that Alaric was still talking. "Actually, Elena, I'm surprised you still care about the competition. I mean, you've changed so much over the last few weeks. The other teachers think you're losing focus. And I've noticed you're spending more time with Damon. Don't. He's a bad influence, though he doesn't try to be. You see, Damon will always be able to do both. Party and work at the same time. You…you've been through too much, I think."

Elena's world was crumbling down. For every minute of her life, she had been the ideal daughter. She was well mannered, friendly, popular and intelligent. When her parent had died, she lost touch with everyone, found comfort in solitude. But she swore that she would make her parents proud, even if she didn't do much else. And now she couldn't even do that properly.

Mr Saltzman looked as if he knew he had pushed her too far and left the room, hoping things would be alright with the eldest Gilbert. She had been fragile, emotionally brittle long before the accident. It had just managed to amplify it to the breaking point.

Dr Meredith Fell walked in a few minutes later along with Dr Johnson, the family doctor. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Dr Johnson was basically part of the family himself. When Elena was younger, she had a very weak immune system, so the clinic was like her second home. He was an elderly bald man with a long white beard. Elena remembered calling him Santa Claus when she was younger. He was always warm and supportive, so she could confide in him.

"Hey, it's little Elena Gilbert!" he rushed forward to hug her, taking care to avoid her injured arm. "Wow, it's been a long time since I last saw you, hasn't it? Guess you've outgrown those terrible green overalls, huh?"

Elena laughed as she remembered. For her fifth birthday, her Aunt Matilda had bought her a gigantic, hideous pair of lime green overalls with blue polka dots all over them. Her parents thanked her and hid them in the closet, hoping never to see them again. Unfortunately, Elena was rather quirky at the age of 9, and took a liking to them. In fact, she had insisted on wearing them everywhere she went until she outgrew them. Physically and mentally.

"So, I heard Liz Forbes is telling her troop you tried to off yourself." Meredith shot him a look. "Sorry. But you'll be glad to know I told her off. Told her Elena Gilbert would never do anything of the sort and set them all straight. But that's not why I'm here."

"We have your lab results," Meredith smiled. "They're not bad for someone who fell from about 20 feet. You probably won't need surgery, we're going to put you in a leg brace and give you a prescription for some painkillers. You'll be able to go home next week."

"And it doesn't look like there'll be any long term issues."

"Thanks Dr Johnson, Dr Fell," Elena said. "Is there any way I can go home sooner though? Jenna's out of town and I don't want to leave Jeremy alone for a week."

"No can do kiddo," Dr Johnson frowned. "You can't go home unless someone can take care of you. What if you have another attack? But don't worry. Jenna's coming as soon as she can and I'll visit you every day until you get better." He looked at his watch. "Oh, I have an appointment to make. I'm sorry I have to go, but I'll see you soon, okay?" She nodded and watched the two doctors leave.

And now she was stuck alone in a hospital room, maybe for days. Her life was wonderful. Right.

* * *

**Author's Note: Eh. Sorry about that. Now we all know that Katherine's poisoning Elena's mind, but how much of what she says is true? A little? A lot? None of it?**

**And silly Elena, in a world without healing vampire blood goes and falls out of a window. I don't know where that came from.**

**Okay, now the important question. Who do you want to initiate the first Delena kiss of this story? Should Elena kiss Damon or Damon kiss Elena? Of course, this probably won't happen for as long as Katherine's here. Which probably won't be long, because I'm getting tired of her.**

**Anyway, the next chapter might not be for a month, because I have some serious exams coming up, but hopefully I'll be back soon.**


	10. Burning Concern

**Author's Note: Surprise update! Hehe, in the beginning I said I'd try to update every two weeks. I haven't been doing a BAD job of keeping the update rate, but my updates are so irregular, that I sometimes feel like I have to apologize. I really am grateful to all of you for reviewing, and I hope I'll see you guys again after my exams.**

* * *

_He took in her dark, wavy locks and her petite frame as she leaned against the door to his room. She would bear a striking resemblance to Elena, actually, if they weren't so different in other ways, he noted._

_Elena's face was heart-shaped, like an angel, with beautiful straight hair and flicks that perfectly framed her face. She was the picture of innocence with her shy smile and a powerful woman with a strong aura. Her laugh tinkled like wind-chimes and filled him with joy, her hands were soft- he had touched them for just a moment when he had visited her at her home. Her beautiful brown eyes were always curious, always warm with just a hint of mischief in them. He could get lost in them for…hours, no, days! Forever..._

_Katherine's face was thinner, with high cheekbones, like a model. A model spawned by the devil himself. With Katherine, there was always an ulterior motive. Her quiet chuckle was always a sign of some misfortune ahead. The way she dressed, even the way she walked with an air of superiority and the stealth of a vixen, everything she did screamed self-preservation and hunger for power. She was always ready to manipulate, to pretend, and if worst came to worst, to run._

_So why was she here now? What more could she take from him? How had he ever fallen for her in the first place? These were all questions that could only be answered by Katherine, but he'd rather live without answers than start a conversation with her. She seemed to notice that he was snubbing her, and decided to start the exchange herself. He seethed, but maintained his stance, with his back to her._

"_Damon…" Katherine whined. "Seriously, can't you at least give your dear sweet girlfriend a chance?"_

_That was when Damon lost it. "Have you lost your freaking mind? Or did you never have one in the first place?" He spun around and tried to contain the venomous words that were sure to spew from his mouth at any minute. "What the hell do you think you're doing here? How could you even think you have the right to be here after what you did?" he screamed._

"_Oh, but what did I do, Damon?" Katherine smirked. Was it always this annoying when he smirked? "I mean," she walked slowly towards him and let her fingers slide upwards across his arm. "I mean, in a court of law…I didn't do anything wrong. At all." They reached his jaw line and gripped his chin firmly._

"_I'd keep that in mind if I were you, Damon. I may be immoral, but I'm not a moron."_

_Unfortunately, the cold, calculating bitch was right. She did her research well, he had to admit. There was nothing he could have her charged for or anything he could do now. Unless he extracted information out of her! Damon became grateful for the security cameras his brother had warned him to install around the house. So he started pacing, determined to trap Katherine the way she had trapped him._

"_Okay. So let me get this straight. A year ago, you and my father schemed to gain control over my life. Giuseppe knew Stefan wasn't cut out for business like I was, so he gave me the companies when I turned 18. You pretended to love me for six months and you made me love you back. I trusted you, you know? I told you everything you would need to bring me down and you fed it to Stefan so he could take over from me on his 18__th__ birthday next month. And then he'd gain control of all the assets I've amassed this year."_

"_Congratulations honey, you finally figured it out! How long did it take you? And how long did it take you to write that little monologue I just saw? Just get one thing straight. I know you. And I never forced you to love me. That was all you."_

"_What I don't get is, what did you get out of it? Because you may believe you know me, Katherine, but I know you too. And you never do anything unless there's something in it for you. So what was it? Money? Something else? Or did you do it for kicks?"_

"_Clever. But no, Damon. I've got secrets I'll never tell, and this is one of them." So she was hiding from something. Or someone._

"_So why are you here now, Katherine? You've taken everything from me. My family, my companies, my ability to love...What more do I have to give you?"_

"_True. That was all me, I admit. But don't forget your best friend," Katherine smile emanated evil._

"_Elena? What did you say to her?" he growled, grabbing Katherine by the shoulders and pushing her into the wall. He heard a resounding thud, but it wasn't what he had just done. Elena had thrown something out of her window by the sound of it. She had every right to be angry with him. They hadn't ended things properly. He dismissed it._

_Her expression didn't waver, in fact getting brighter._

"_Sure, let's all make sure poor Elena's okay. You have nothing to worry about. Oh, but what's up with you and Doe Eyes anyway? Did you forget you were dating someone back home in New York?"_

_He should never have left Katherine alone with Elena. Still, it was too late for damage control, so he feigned indifference. "Why, are you jealous?"_

"_No, but Doe Eyes certainly is. She's seriously crushing on you. She even told me she thinks you're hot. I'm guessing nobody told her that you had a girlfriend? Damn, things would have been so much spicier if I had told her about our engagement." She waggled her fingers and the shiny gold band on her ring finger caught the light._

_They had gotten engaged on a whim 4 months after they had started dating. But that was all part of the plan as well. Guess Stefan and Giuseppe thought he'd trust a fiancée more than a girlfriend. And she played her role impeccably. He probably wouldn't have found out if Stefan had been more discreet about the scheme. Instead, he was eager to flaunt it in front of Damon. Because that was all that mattered to Stefan. Being better than his brother._

_He could no longer hide the liquid hatred from his eyes as he remembered. "It means nothing. Believe me when I say that I could care less what happens to you now. I should have saved that ring for someone special. And it's time you give that ring back. It belonged to my mother."_

"_And now, it belongs to some lucky stray on the road," Katherine slid the ring off her finger and tossed it out of the window. She slithered out from under his arms like the venomous snake she was and glided towards the door._

"_Consider this fair warning, Katherine. I swear I will take you down if you come near Elena again. I may not have power in court, but I'll make sure the world loses all respect for you. And nobody will come within miles of you again. I'll make sure to take every ounce of power, everything you took from me. I have a full confession from you on camera and there's no way you can deny it."_

_She turned back for a second. "What camera? You mean the security cameras I disabled last night when you were out with your bestie? Honey, it's going to take a lot more than that if you want to bring me down. I'm not in town for you anyway, so you can breathe easy for now." And then she disappeared as quickly as she had shown up._

* * *

She was right, he thought a few hours after Katherine had left. It would take a lot more than that if he wanted to bring her down. He realized that Katherine had never answered him when he had asked why she was in town. And she wasn't the type to drop in for casual visits either. So if she had come to his house, it had been for Elena. Elena! She was going to get hurt!

He sped down the stairs and scanned the house. It was empty. Please be safe, Elena, he prayed. He yanked the door open and ran to Elena's driveway. All the blood drained from his face and he felt genuine fear when he saw a pool of dried blood that had dripped from the jagged edge of a garden rock to the grass on the lawn.

Katherine hadn't…killed her, had she? No, no, he couldn't think like that. She was a bitch, not a murderer. Fortunately, he didn't have to think much at all. Alaric's number showed up on his phone display as it began to play his favourite song. He had to remember to change it or it would always remind him of the fear he had felt for Elena in the future.

He picked up. "Damon, where the hell are you? I noticed you and Elena have spent more time with each other lately and I hardly believe that your absences corresponding was a coincidence. She's a good girl Damon. I've told you before. Don't mess with her."

"Elena! Ric, is she okay?" Damon's anxiety was renewed when he heard her name again. "Ric, is she okay? Do you know where she is?"

"Sadly! Damon, she's in Meredith's clinic now. She fell out of her window and has a broken arm and leg. And I have a feeling it has something to do with you, because Elena doesn't fall out of windows regularly."

"Oh thank GOD!" Damon almost laughed with relief, but he was glad he didn't once he realized what it must have sounded like. "Sorry, I was just so worried. Katherine's back in town. For Elena this time. And I know that while I'm in school, you're our teacher, not my friend, Ric, but I kind of need you to be there for Elena now."

"Katherine? I know what I just said and this will sound like a total contradiction, but you should visit her, Damon."

Damon shook his head, though Alaric couldn't see it. "Uh uh. Bad idea, Ric. I don't think she wants to see me right now."

Alaric was adamant, though. "That makes the two of us, then. I don't think she wants to see me either. But Jenna's snowed in at the airport and nobody knows where Jeremy is. She's all alone, and she won't say no to company."

Damon groaned irritably. "Alright, I'll go. Thanks Ric." He hung up before Alaric had a chance to respond and grabbed his car keys. Meredith's clinic wasn't too far away, but it was already close to 10 PM and he didn't want to miss visiting hours.

When he reached he practically drove his car into the wall of the parking lot, not bothering about scratches even though it was his precious baby. Some things were just more important at the moment. He swiftly manoeuvred through the sea of people in the lobby and found Elena's room- Ric was smart enough to text him the room details.

He had known she was safe since Ric's call, but when he saw her fast asleep in her white cotton bed, all remnants of worry were washed away by an overwhelming wave of relief. Now he had to protect her from anything that threatened her well-being. It was his duty as her best friend.

She murmured in discomfort and Damon immediately rushed to her side. He shook the bed and her eyes opened, first wide with fear, then narrow with annoyance.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" she asked. It was amazing, just hearing her voice again.

"Elena," he sighed, her name flowing out of him effortlessly, as if he had been born just for this purpose. The previous day, he had thought Elena was out of it when she had said that she liked saying his name. Now he got it.

"Damon?" she looked at him quizzically and he realized how stupid he must look. And to make matters worse, he was staring at her.

"I know we have a lot to talk about," Damon started, uneasily shifting his balance. "It's just…can it wait till tomorrow? It's a lot to ask, I know, but I'm just so glad you're okay," he said, leaning forward to hug her, gently to avoid hurting her broken arm. He swelled with gratitude for Elena's forgiving nature when she nodded and hugged him back.

Her embrace, even with one hand was more than enough to comfort him and he hoped it would have the same effect on her.

"I was so worried about you, Elena," he whispered in her neck, taking in the sweet, strawberry scent of her hair. They would have things to discuss in the morning, but for the moment, things felt pretty alright.

* * *

**Author's Note: So now you know, I'm *definitely* a Delena shipper XD I mean, there's going to be angst, but it's nice to know we're heading in the right direction with these two. I am definitely not looking forward to the conversation they're going to have in the next chapter, but at least Damon's heading in the right direction. Hopefully this chapter has answered a few questions and we'll probably see more answers in the next one.**

**I love you guys for reading, reviewing, adding faves and alerts. And I just discovered that I've been added to a community as well. Thank you!**

**Once again, I probably won't update for another month, because I have exams, but I hope to return with a double update. See you soon?**


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